The group is principal investigator for an Odin project that will map the
Galactic plane in the molecules of O 
, H O and CO. This is
coordinated with observations with the infrared ISO satellite. In
collaboration with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics we
analyse ISO polarimetry data to map the magnetic field in the Milky Way.
The Galactic nucleus, at a distance of about 8 kpc and hidden behind about
30 magnitudes of visual extinction by cool interstellar dust along the line
of sight, cannot be studied at visible, ultraviolet or soft X-ray
wavelengths. The available information about this nearest centre of a
galaxy comes from measurements at 
-ray, hard X-ray, infrared,
(sub)millimetre and radio wavelengths. The research concentrates on the
distribution and kinematics of molecular cloud structures and their
physical and chemical properties, as well as their interactions with the
radio continuum components, from the inner parsec out to about a hundred
parsecs from the Galactic Centre. The centre of the Milky Way in the
emission and abroption lines of different molecules with the SEST and the
VLA is being mapped. Furthermore, the group is principal investigator of
the Odin Galactic Centre Region program.