Notes on Star Formation

Abstract

This book provides an introduction to the field of star formation at a level suitable for graduate students or advanced undergraduates in astronomy or physics. The structure of the book is as follows. The first two chapters begin with a discussion of observational techniques, and the basic phenomenology they reveal. The goal is to familiarize students with the basic techniques that will be used throughout, and to provide a common vocabulary for the rest of the book. The next five chapters provide a similar review of the basic physical processes that are important for star formation. Again, the goal is to provide a basis for what follows. The remaining chapters discuss star formation over a variety of scales, starting with the galactic scale and working down to the scales of individual stars and their disks. The book concludes with a brief discussion of the clearing of disks and the transition to planet formation. The book includes five problem sets, complete with solutions.