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Observations of the initial conditions of protostar formation
Derek Ward-Thompson (Cardiff)
The question of how stars form is one of the most fundamental
and fascinating problems in astrophysics, both in its own right, and
because it has a crucial bearing on the formation of planets, on the
origin of the elements, on the structure and evolution of
galaxies, and ultimately on the life and death of the Universe.
The study of star formation is currently at a very exciting stage. The
advent of large millimetre and submillimetre single-dish telescopes
and interferometers means that the earliest stages of protostellar
evolution are now accessible to observers, and this in turn has given
a huge impetus to theoretical studies of star formation. In addition
the ISO satellite provided access to the FIR emission from young
protostellar objects, as well as objects believed to be in the
pre-collapse phase. In this paper we review some of the data that
were obtained, and discuss the consequences for our understanding of
the star formation process.
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