| Stars are formed from molecular clouds and are the very fundamental building blocks of the universe. The processes of forming stars reshape the physical and chemical environment of molecular clouds, thus controls not only the structure and evolution of galaxies but also the buildup of heavy elements as well as the creation of the planetary environments in which life may become possible.
In such dynamical process, contraction of molecular clouds creates dense molecular cores which collapse gravitationally into young stellar objects (YSOs); Subsequent mass accretion via circumstellar disks will occur, accompanied by some mass loss activities (winds/jets/outflows) which lead to the final dispersion of molecular envelopes. The details of the star formation process, however, are far from being well understood and therefore continues to be a central problem in modern astrophysics.
The goal of our star formation study is to try advancing our knowledge of the nature of star formation processes by carefully formulating theoretical models, examining observational evidence as well as bridging the stories from two sides. |
Introduction