Felipe Alarcón Peña

I am a Ph.D. in Astronomy. I am mostly interested in the discovery of protoplanets and the chemistry of planet formation.

Personal Data

  • Given Names: Felipe Mauricio
  • Last Names: Alarcón Peña
  • Languages: Spanish(native), English(C2), Italian(B1), French(A2)

Education and Jobs

  • Postdoctoral Fellow in UNVEIL ERC Group – Università degli Studi di Milano, Since October 2024

  • B.Sc in Astronomy – Universidad de Chile, March 2014 - December 2016
  • M.Sc in Astronomy – Universidad de Chile, March 2017 - January 2019
  • Ph.D in Astronomy – University of Michigan, September 2018 - August 2024

Achievements, Awards and Grants

  • NRAO Student Observing Support Program ($\sim$$20k), 2023
  • Rackham International Student Fellowship, University of Michigan, 2019.
  • Rackham Conference Travel Grant, University of Michigan, 2019, 2022, 2023.
  • Fulbright Scholar 2018-2022
  • National Master Fellowship for Graduate Studies, Conicyt (now Anid), Chile 2018.
  • Short research internships for graduate students, 2017-2018 Call (“Estadías Cortas de investigación para alumnos de postgrado Convocatoria 2017-2018”) at CSUN and NASA, JPL.
  • “Outstanding Student, Universidad de Chile (Best 10\% of the cohort)” 2013 to 2016.
  • Ranked first in the Astronomy Graduation cohort.
  • Universidad de Chile Scholar 2013-2016 (BSc full funding)
  • Grant for Astronomy Outreach in Rural Communities in Chile, Vicerrectoria de Asuntos Academicos, Universidad de Chile, 2017-2018.

Contributions

h-index = 24

Publications: : 46 refereed publications(6 as 1st author + 5 as 2nd author) + 4 under review (2 as 1st author)

Number of Citations: 1945

1st Author Papers:

  1. Alarcón, F. , Bergin, E., Cugno, G., ApJ, 966, 225 (2024) Extinction Values toward Embedded Planets in Protoplanetary Disks Estimated from Hydrodynamic Simulations

  2. Alarcón, F. & Bergin, Edwin, ApJ, 967, 144 (2024) Thermal Structure and Millimeter Emission of Protoplanetary Disk with embedded protoplanets from radiative transfer modeling

  3. Alarcón, F., Casassus, S., Lyra, W., Pérez, S., Cieza, L., MNRAS, 527, 9655 (2024). Viscous heating as the dominant heat source inside the water snowline of V883 Ori

  4. Alarcón, F., Bergin, E. A., Teague, R. 2022, ApJL, 941, L24, doi: 10.3847/2041- 8213/aca6e6 A localized kinematic structure detected in atomic carbon emission spatially coincident with a proposed protoplanet in the HD 163296 disk

  5. Alarcón, F., Bosman, A., Bergin, E., et al. 2021, ApJS. 257, 8. “Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales(MAPS) VIII: CO Gap in AS 209–Gas Depletion or Chemical Process- ing?”

  6. Alarcón, F., Teague, R., Zhang, K., Bergin, E. A., Barraza-Alfaro, M. 2020, ApJ, 905, 68, doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abc1d6. Chemical Evolution in a Proto- planetary Disk with Planet Carved Gaps and Dust Rings.

Other Refereed Papers(* denotes 2nd author):

Major and/or Significant Contributions:

    • Van Clepper,E., Alarcón,F., Ciesla et al. ApJL, 994, L44 (2025) “Dust Recycling in Protoplanetary Disks: A Novel Method of Volatile Enrichment in Embedded Giant Planets”
    • Raul, E., Alarcón, F., and Bergin, E. ApJ, 982, 155 (2025) “Tracking the Chemical Evolution of Hydrocarbons Through Carbon Grain Supply in Protoplanetary Disks”
    • Law, C.L.,Alarcón, F., Cleeves, I., et al. 2023, ApJL, 959, L27 (2023). “C I Traces the Disk Atmosphere in the IM Lup Protoplanetary Disk”
    • Bosman, A. D.,Alarcón, F., Bergin, E. A., et al. ApJS, 257, 7 (2021). “Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales(MAPS) VI: Sub-stellar O/H and C/H and super-stellar in planet feeding gas”
    • Bosman, A. D.,Alarcón, F., Zhang, K., Bergin, E. A. 2021a, ApJ, 910, 3, doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abe127. Destruction of Refractory Carbon Grains Drives the Final Stage of Protoplanetary Disk Chemistry.

  6. Cugno, Facchini, \textbf{Alarcón} et al. A\&A, 170, 317 (2025) “Direct Measurement of Extinction in a Planet-Hosting Gap ”

  7. Van De Putte, Meshaka, Trahin et al. A\&A, 687, A86 (2024) “PDRs4All. VIII. Mid-infrared emission line inventory of the Orion Bar”

  8. Berné, Habart, Peeters et al. Sci, 383, 988 (2024) “A far-ultraviolet–driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk”

  9. Berné, Martin-Drumel, Schroetter et al. Nature, 621, 56 (2023) “Formation of the methyl cation by photochemistry in a protoplanetary disk”

  10. Chown, Sidhu, Peeters et al. A\&A, 685, A75 (2024) “PDRs4All. IV. An embarrassment of riches: Aromatic infrared bands in the Orion Bar”

  11. Schwarz, Calahan, Zhang et al. ApJS, 257, 20 (2021) “Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales. XX. The Massive Disk around GM Aurigae”

Author Contributions and/or Data Reduction:

  1. Romero-Mirza, Öberg, Banzatti et al. ApJ, 991, 128 (2025) “JWST-MIRI Observations of the Irradiated Chemistry in the Inner Disk Cavity of GM Aur.”

  2. Schroetter, Berné, Goicoechea et al. arXiv, arXiv:2506.05186 (2025) “PDRs4All XV: CH radical and H$_3^+$ molecular ion in the irradiated protoplanetary disk d203-506”

  3. Khan, Abbott, Peeters et al. A&A, 699, A133 (2025) “PDRs4All: XIV. Probing CH out-of-plane bending modes of PAH molecules in the Orion Bar with JWST”

  4. Schroetter, Berné, Bron et al. Nat Astron (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02596-6 “A solar C/O ratio in planet-forming gas at 1 au in a highly irradiated disk”

  5. Chown, Okada, Peeters et al. A&A, 698, A86 (2025) “PDRs4All: XIII. Empirical prescriptions for the interpretation of JWST imaging observations of star-forming regions”

  6. Goicoechea, Pety, Cuadrado et al. A&A, 696, A100 (2025) “PDRs4All: XII. Far-ultraviolet-driven formation of simple hydrocarbon radicals and their relation with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons”

  7. Goicoechea, Le Bourlot, Black et al. A&A, 689, L4 (2024) “PDRs4All: X. ALMA and JWST detection of neutral carbon in the externally irradiated disk d203-506: Undepleted gas-phase carbon”

  8. Fuente, Roueff, Le Petit et al. A&A, 687, A87 (2024) “PDRs4All. IX. Sulfur elemental abundance in the Orion Bar”

  9. Schroetter, Berné, Joblin et al. A&A, 685, A78 (2024) “PDRs4All. VII. The 3.3 μm aromatic infrared band as a tracer of physical properties of the interstellar medium in galaxies”

  10. Pasquini, Peeters, Schefter et al. A&A, 685, A77 (2024) “PDRs4All. VI. Probing the photochemical evolution of PAHs in the Orion Bar using machine learning techniques”

  11. Zannese, Tabone, Habart et al. NatAs, 8, 577 (2024) “OH as a probe of the warm-water cycle in planet-forming disks”

  12. Changala, Chen, Li et al. A&A, 680, A19. “Astronomical CH3+ rovibrational assignments. A combined theoretical and experimental study validating observational findings in the d203-506 UV-irradiated protoplanetary disk”

  13. Elyajouri, Ysard, Abergel et al. A&A, 685, A76 (2024) “PDRs4All. V. Modelling the dust evolution across the illuminated edge of the Orion Bar”

  14. Peeters, Habart, Berné et al. A&A, 685, A74 (2024) “PDRs4All: III. JWST’s NIR spectroscopic view of the Orion Bar”

  15. Habart, Peeters, Berné et al. A&A, 685, A73 (2024) “PDRs4All. II. JWST’s NIR and MIR imaging view of the Orion Nebula”

  16. Galloway-Sprietsma, M., Bae, J., Teague, R., et al. 2023, ApJ, 950, 147, Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS): Complex Kinematics in the AS 209 Disk Induced by a Forming Planet and Disk Winds. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/accae4

  17. Bae, J., Teague, R., Andrews, S. M., et al. 2022, 934, L20. doi:10.3847/2041- 8213/ac7fa3. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS): A Cir- cumplanetary Disk Candidate in Molecular-line Emission in the AS 209 Disk.

  18. Berné O., Habart ́E., Peeters E., Abergel A., Bergin E. A., Bernard-Salas J., Bron E., et al., 2022, PASP, 134, 054301. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ac604c. PDRs4All: A JWST Early Release Science Program on Radiative Feedback from Massive Stars.

  19. Öberg, K. I., Guzman, V. V., Walsh, C., et al. 2021, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06268. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06268. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) I: Program Overview and Highlights.

  20. Law, C. J., Loomis, R. A., Teague, R., et al. 2021a, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06210. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06210. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) III: Characteristics of Radial Chemical Substructures.

  21. Law, C. J., Teague, R., Loomis, R. A., et al. 2021b, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06217. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06217. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) IV: Emission Surfaces and Vertical Distribution of Molecules.

  22. Zhang, K., Booth, A. S., Law, C. J., et al. 2021, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06233. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06233. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) V: CO gas distributions.

  23. Guzmán, V. V., Bergner, J. B., Law, C. J., et al. 2021, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06391. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06391. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) VI: Distribution of the small organics HCN, C2H, and H2CO.

  24. Bosman, A. D., Bergin, E. A., Loomis, R. A., et al. 2021b, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06223. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06223. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XV. Tracing protoplanetary disk structure within 20 au.

  25. Calahan, J. K., Bergin, E. A., Zhang, K., et al. 2021, arXiv e-prints, arXiv:2109.06202. https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.06202. Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) XVII: Determining the 2D Thermal Structure of the HD 163296 Disk.

  26. Pérez, S.,Casassus, S., Hales, A., et al. 2020, ApJ, 889, L24. Long Baseline Observations of the HD 100546 Protoplanetary Disk with ALMA

  27. Baruteau, C., Barraza, M., P ́erez, S., et al. 2019, MNRAS, 486, 304. Dust traps in the protoplanetary disc MWC 758: two vortices produced by two giant planets?

  28. Casassus S. et al., 2019, MNRAS, 483, 3278. Cm-wavelength observations of MWC 758: resolved dust trapping in a vortex

  29. Casassus S. et al., 2018, MNRAS, 477, 5104. An inner warp in the DoAr 44 T Tauri transition disc

Other submitted papers (* denotes 2nd):

  1. Yoshihide, Alarcón et al, submitted to ApJL. “Silicon Sulfide Isotopologues Reveal Silicate Sublimation in the Outer Disk of PDS 66”

  2. Alarcón, F., Facchini, S., Trapman et al, submitted to ApJL. “exoALMA XXIII: Formaldehyde emission in protoplanetary disks of exoALMA compared with their properties and dynamical state.”

  3. Khan, Daza Rodriguez, Peeters et al. submitted to A\&A “PDRs4All: XIX. The 6 to 9$\mu$m region as a probe of PAH charge and size in the Orion Bar.”

  4. Armitage, Williams, Zhang et al. submitted to ApJ, in review (2025) “Tracing Pebble Drift History in Two Protoplanetary Disks with CO Enhancement”

Talks:

  • Contributed talk: “A promising CPD candidate in a member of the evolved Eta Cha stellar Association”, XX SOCHIAS Annual Meeting, October 2025
  • Contributed Talk: “Correlation in the emission of carbon-bearing species with dynamical state of protoplanetary disks”, ESO - Towards new frontiers: The astrochemical journey from young stellar nurseries to exoplanets , March 2025
  • Contributed Talk: “A possible companion candidate in one of the Eta Cha members”, Gas Accretion in Planet Formation(GAP), March 2025
  • Contributed Talk: “How can we strategize to detect more protoplanets?”, ERC workshop on Disk \& Planet formation, June 2024 &diamond Invited Talk: “Thermochemical evolution in 3D flows of protoplanetary disks”, University of Wisconsin-Madison, March 2024 &diamond Invited Talk: “Thermochemical evolution in 3D flows of protoplanetary disks”, CCA Star and Planet formation group, Flatiron Institute, Nov 2023 &diamond Invited Talk: “The evolution in protoplanetary disks: From thermal changes in outbursting sources to the chemistry of planet-forming regions”, Astrochemistry Seminar, Leiden Observatory, Jan 2023 &diamond Invited Talk: “Viscous heating as the dominant heat source inside the snowline of V883 Ori”, Planet Formation Journal Club, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Jan 2023
  • Contributed Talk: “Atomic Carbon as a tracer of hidden flows and a kinematic anomaly in the HD 163296 disk”, From Clouds to Planets II: The Astrochemical Link, October 2022 &diamond Invited Talk: “Chemical Evolution in planet-forming regions of protoplanetary disks”, Exoplanet Journal Club, University of Chicago, October 2022
  • Contributed Talk: “Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) VIII: Gap Chemistry in AS 209 - Gas Depletion or Chemical Processing?”, Astrochemical Frontiers 2, July 2021
  • Contributed Talk: “Chemical gap theory applied to AS 209: Revealing the Chemistry of Planet Formation”. Five years after HL Tau: a new era in planet formation, December 2020 &diamond Invited Talk: “Chemical evolution in protoplanetary disks with dust substructure”, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Star-Planet Formation Group, September 2020
  • Contributed Talk: “Chemical evolution in protoplanetary disks with dust substructure”, Astrochemical Frontiers: Quarantine Edition, July 2020

Posters:

  • “Radiative Transfer Effects of accreting planets in planet-feeding gas”, 10 years of ALMA, December 2023
  • “Radiative Transfer Effects of accreting planets in planet-feeding gas”, 2023 Kavli-IAU Astrochemistry Symposium. Astrochemistry VIII - From the First Galaxies to the Formation of Habitable Worlds, July 2023
  • “Radiative Transfer Effects of accreting planets in planet-feeding gas”,Gordon Research Conference, June 2023
  • “Chemical evolution in protoplanetary disk with dust substructures”,Gordon Research Conference , June 2019
  • “Measuring Physical Conditions and Turbulent Velocity in Protoplanetary Disks”, Diversis mundi: The Solar System in an Exoplanetary context march 2018

Code Proficiency

  • Python, Julia, C++, R, Matlab
  • Fargo3D, RADMC-3D, rac-2d, Meudon

Teaching & Advising Experience

  • Advising Undergrad Student Mr. Eshan Raul; Summer-Winter 2022, Summer-Winter 2023
  • Graduate Student Instructor(GSI) Astronomy 101, University of Michigan, Winter 2019 - Fall 2019.
  • Teaching Assistant PLanetary Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Fall 2018.
  • Teaching Assistant Introduction to Cosmology, Universidad de Chile, Fall 2017 - Spring 2017.
  • Teaching Assistant Introduction to Algebra, Universidad de Chile, Fall 2016.
  • Teaching Assistant Electromagnetism, Universidad de Chile, Fall 2016.
  • Teaching Assistant Newtonian Systems, Universidad de Chile, Spring 2015 - Spring 2016.
  • Teaching Assistant Introduction to the Newtonian Physics, Universidad de Chile, Fall 2015.

Service and Others

  • Member of University of Michigan 2024 PhD Admissions Committee, Astronomy Department.
  • Scientific referee for ApJ, ApJL, MNRAS, A&A and New Astronomy.
  • Member of Local Organizing Committee(LOC) 2023 Kavli-IAU Astrochemistry Symposium. Astrochemistry VIII - From the First Galaxies to the Formation of Habitable Worlds.
  • Colloquium Speaker Lunch organizer with Graduate Students, University of Michigan.
  • Star and Planet Formation Group Organizer, University of Michigan, Fall 2021 - Winter 2021
  • Grad Student Lunch with Colloquium Speaker Organizer, University of Michigan, Fall 2021 - Winter 2021

Observing Proposals

  • PI of ALMA Proposal 2024.1.01515 (3.8 h), ranked C, Cycle 11
  • PI of ALMA Proposal 2023.1.00901.S. (~16 h , ranked B, Cycle 10
  • PI of Magellan/Clay telescope Proposal 2024A, half-night
  • PI of ALMA Proposal 2022.1.01308.S., ranked C, Cycle 9
  • Co-I of JWST Program 7340 (8.9 h), Cycle 4
  • Co-I of ALMA Proprosal 2024.1.00964, ranked B, Cycle 11
  • Co-I of ALMA Proprosal 2024.1.00787, ranked B, Cycle 11
  • Co-I of JWST Program 5816 (11.29 h), Cycle 3
  • Co-I of JWST Program 5261 (7.67 h), Cycle 3
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2023.1.00787.S, ranked C, Cycle 9
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2022.1.01291.S., ranked C
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2022.1.01291.S., ranked C
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2022.1.00247.S., ranked A
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2021.1.00899.S., ranked B
  • Co-I of ALMA Proposal 2018.1.01309.S., ranked A
  • Co-I of of Magellan/Clay telescope Proposal 2024A, 1 night