My work is motivated by the necessity to extend Standard Model of Particle Physics in order to explain three observed phenomena that this great theory fails to accommodate

Markus Altena Davidsen’s PhD dissertation is the first major study of Tolkien Religion. In it, he analyses the religion that is based on the stories by acclaimed British fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien. He also discusses how fiction itself can become religious. Davidsen will defend his dissertation on…

A Dutch-Italian-German team of astronomers has observed a huge glow of radio emission around a cluster of thousands of galaxies. They combined data from thousands of LOFAR antennas that were focused for 18 nights on an area the size of four full moons. This is the first time astronomers have been able…

The largest galaxies in the Universe feed off cosmic oceans, which helps them grow. This is the presumption of an international team of scientist with two Leiden astronomers, based on observations of the ‘Spiderweb’ galaxy. The researchers published their evidence in Science on 2 December 2016.

We explore the particle physics and quantum world at the time of the big bang.

An international team of more than 200 astronomers from 18 countries has published hundreds of thousands of unknown galaxies. The data are part of a project lead by Leiden professor of Observational cosmology Huub Röttgering. Both Dutch and international media reported extensively about the publica…

This thesis presents pioneering work on the panchromatic emission of some of the most luminous galaxies in the early Universe: star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei.

Ömer Gürlesin defended his thesis on 28 November 2018

The Faculty of Humanities has two advisory groups for Diversty & Inclusion: one for staff members and one for students.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.W. Lenstra

An international team of researchers led by Leiden University (the Netherlands) has mapped nine gigantic collisions of galaxy clusters. The collisions took place seven billion years ago and could be observed because they accelerate particles to high speeds. It is the first time that collisions of such…

The unit residue group, to which the present thesis is devoted, is defined using the norm-residue symbol, which Hilbert introduced into algebraic number theory in 1897.

Where did the new generation of antislavery activists get their inspiration to organize in large-scale pressure groups?

Media all around the world reported about it: the most detailed images yet seen of galaxies, shot by radio telescope LOFAR. The international team behind these amazing results were led by Leah Morabito at Durham University and included three talented Leiden astronomers.

ESA’s Gaia mission has produced the richest star catalogue to date, including high-precision measurements of nearly 1.7 billion stars and revealing previously unseen details of our home Galaxy.

Three Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council. The funding of up to 1.5 million euros supports ‘talented, adventurous and pioneering researchers’. A total of 39 projects at Dutch institutions will receive a grant.

What legislative and regulatory questions arise when children, adolescents or elderly people use the Internet?

Papyrology+, founded in 2014, is a collaboration of Leiden scholars studying (Abnormal) Hieratic, Demotic, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Arabic papyri from a socio-historical, economic and linguistic perspective. Papyrology+ aims to explore new opportunities and directions in the study of ancient…

In the summer school 'Medieval Religion' students will be challenged by specialists in the field of medieval religion to position and develop their own research in relevant scholarly and cultural contexts. The instructors will give masterclasses from their own specialties. Deadline for registrations:…

Promotor: W. Jaffe, Co-promotor: K. Meisenheimer

Tracing the evolution of the molecular gas content in galaxies is critical for a complete understanding of galaxy formation and evolution, as it provides the direct fuel for star formation. Studies of high-redshift (z>1) molecular gas reservoirs, most commonly traced by carbon monoxide (CO), have seen…

Chaider Bamualim defended his thesis on 9 September 2015

Is the American government behind the attacks on 11 September 2001? Could it be that the white contrails emitted by planes in the sky are actually ‘chemtrails’: chemicals that are deliberately being spread amongst us? And did the Dutch intelligence service order the murder of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn?…

Religion, Class, and the Postwar Development of the Dutch Welfare State. Dennie Oude Nijhuis.

Punching Back is a detailed ethnographic study that demonstrates that young Muslim women who kickbox develop agentive selves by challenging gender norms, challenging expectations, and living out their religious subjectivities.

An investigation into how racial stereotypes were created and used in the European Middle Ages.

ERC Starting Grant: The Van Manen Project. This five year project (2023-2028) is made possible with an ERC Starting Grant. It aims to (digitally) reunite all parts of the Van Manen Collection. This enables us to study it as a whole, helping us to understand the process of collection formation. More…

The following people are part of the Academia in Motion Steering Group.

Strategic direction of the GTGC initiative lies with a Steering Group, composed of seven members from four Leiden University faculties. Chaired by Leiden's Professor of Global Transformations and Governance Challenges, the Steering Group addresses questions such as overall vision, staffing, communications,…

The intracluster medium (ICM) is a hot, tenuous and X-ray emitting gas that pervades galaxy clusters.

Religion and ethnicity are inextricably linked in discourse within and about Central Asia. One common narrative suggests that as a result of differences between historically sedentary and nomadic populations, ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks are naturally more religious and more likely to radicalise than their…

Researchers have discovered oxygen in the furthest known galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0. Leiden astronomers Sander Schouws and Rychard Bouwens were part of the team that made this discovery. This news was reported in all newspapers and online media.

On 15 July 2019 Hans-Martien ten Napel started a new series on freedom of religion or belief for the London School of Economics research-led interdisciplinary Religion and Global Society Blog.

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

Promotor: A. Achúcarro Co-promotor: A. Boyarsky

Over a seven year period an international team of scientists has mapped more than a quarter of the northern sky using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a pan-European radio telescope. From Leiden, Astronomer Timothy Shimwell and Huub Röttgering, among others, are involved. It reveals an astonishingly…

Promotor: P. Stevenhagen, Co-promotores: B. de Smit, F. Andreatta

Promotores: H.W. Lenstra, A. Lucchini

On 14 November, Ilya Kokorin defended the thesis 'Intra-group financing and enterprise group insolvency: problems, principles and solutions'. The doctoral research was supervised by Matthias Haentjens and Reinout Vriesendorp.

Healthy University Leiden was founded by working with a taskforce, a focus group and seminars.

Several so-called Special Interest Groups are linked to DSRP. These groups focus on specialized topics and organize their own group meetings, talks etc. Contact the group leader if you are interested to join. It is possible to be a member of multiple groups.

The origin and evolution of galaxies are closely tied to the cyclic feedback processes between stars and the interstellar medium (ISM).