We have decided to turn the PCMI in-person biennal conference into a virtual meeting on the same dates (July 6-9, 2020).

Our intention is to keep science communication alive in this complicated situation. In addition it is the occasion to transform the videoconferencing constraint into opportunity and to open up the colloquium to the international community which will allow the PCMI activities to get better known. As a consequence, no registration fees are needed to attend to the meeting but we ask for registration in order to get access to the virtual meeting.

The book of abstracts can be found here: 

Posters and videos will be uploaded here

The French National Program of Physique et Chimie des Milieux Interstellaire et Circumstellaire (PCMI) drives researches between physicists, chemists, and astrophysicists to progress in the understanding of the circumstellar and interstellar medium in our Galaxy and in external galaxies. PCMI organizes its biennial conference in Le Havre on Jul. 06-10 2020.

This conference will be the occasion to discuss recent advances on the main PCMI science topics and discuss their evolution. We list here some of the relevant hot issues.

• 3D maps of the interstellar-medium.

• Routine measurement of the magnetic field, from galactic scales to star formation.

• The emergence of artificial intelligence methods to compare data and numerical simulations.

• Very high angular resolution highlighting of stellar and planetary formation details: internal structure and physical properties of cores, protoplanetary disks and jets.

• Attempts to unify star formation studies from the Milky Way to the youngest galaxies, including feedback mechanisms.

• Access to extreme interstellar environments through studies of external galaxies (low metallicity, high radiation).

• Determination of physical conditions in distant environments using molecules and dusts detected at high redshift.

• The importance of primordial chemistry for the formation of the first molecular structures of the universe.

• Astrochemistry as a first step in exobiology.

• The achievement of precision astrochemistry through the combination of theoretical models and advanced laboratory experiments.

• The experimental confirmation that irradiation (X, UV, CR) of ice, dust and molecules is a powerful lever for the evolution of the interstellar medium.

• Experimental simulation of the formation of nanograins in star envelopes.

In addition to the common sessions, there will be 4 discussion workshops on the following subjects:

• PCMI and exo-biology.

• The ionization fraction of the interstellar medium.

• Understanding kinematic signatures from cloud collapse to planet formation: what are the current chemo-dynamical modeling challenges?

• High-redshift galaxies chemistry.

More information may be found on the following document:
http://www.pcmi.cnrs.fr/IMG/pdf/pcmi-prospect-2019-2024.pdf

We expect a large audience to discuss these questions and others.

PCMI is an "action sur projet" from CNRS-INSU (Sciences de l'Univers), also supported by the CNRS-INP (Institute of Physics), the CNRS-INC (Institute of Chemistry), CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales), and CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives).

PCMI website: http://www.pcmi.cnrs.fr/

Sponsors: