Related papers: A hot compact dust disk around a massive young ste…
In this review, I present the case for how massive stars may form through stellar collisions. This mechanism requires very high stellar densities, up to 4 orders of magnitude higher than are observed in the cores of dense young clusters. In…
Recent advances in our understanding of massive star formation have made clear the important role of protostellar disks in mediating accretion. Here we describe a simple, semi-analytic model for young, deeply embedded, massive accretion…
An observational review is provided of the properties of accretion disks around young stars. It concerns the primordial disks of intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects in embedded and optically revealed phases. The properties…
Simulations of the collapse and fragmentation of turbulent molecular clouds and dense young clusters show that encounters between disc-surrounded stars are relatively common events which should significantly influence the resulting disc…
The formation of galactic discs and the efficiency of star formation within them are issues central to our understanding of galaxy formation. We have developed a detailed and versatile model of disc formation which combines the strengths of…
Near-infrared surveys of high-mass star-forming regions start to shed light onto their stellar content. A particular class of objects found in these regions, the so-called massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) are surrounded by dense…
Numerical simulations have shown that the often cited radiation pressure barrier to accretion onto massive stars can be circumvented, when the radiation field is highly anisotropic in the presence of a circumstellar accretion disk with high…
We discuss the properties of several circumstellar debris disk systems imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer in a survey of young stars with known far-IR excesses. These dusty disks…
Interpretation of molecular line observations in tenuous circumstellar disks around young G-type stars in terms of a disk mass is difficult without a model that describes the chemical structure of these disks. This paper now discusses the…
Planet-forming circumstellar disks are a fundamental part of the star formation process. Since stars form in a hierarchical fashion in groups of up to hundreds or thousands, the UV radiation environment that these disks are exposed to can…
Recent high resolution near infrared (HST-NICMOS) and mm-interferometric imaging have revealed dense gas and dust accretion disks in nearby ultra-luminous galactic nuclei. In the best studied ultraluminous IR galaxy, Arp 220, the 2 micron…
Our current understanding of the physical processes of star formation is reviewed, with emphasis on processes occurring in molecular clouds like those observed nearby. The dense cores of these clouds are predicted to undergo gravitational…
I review theoretical models of star formation and how they apply across the stellar mass spectrum. Several distinct theories are under active study for massive star formation, especially Turbulent Core Accretion, Competitive Accretion and…
We present a model for the formation of massive ($M > 10 M_\odot$) stars through accretion-induced collisions in the cores of embedded dense stellar clusters. This model circumvents the problem of accreting onto a star whose luminosity is…
The discovery of gravitationally lensed stellar clusters at high redshift with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed extremely compact, massive star-forming systems in galaxies at $z > 6$, providing a new window into early…
Using the HPC ressources of the state of Baden-W\"urttemberg, we modelled for the first time the luminous burst from a young massive star by accretion of material from its close environment. We found that the surroundings of young massive…
We have carried out a sensitive search for gas emission lines at infrared and millimeter wavelengths for a sample of 15 young sun-like stars selected from our dust disk survey with the Spitzer Space Telescope. We have used mid-infrared…
We propose that supermassive stars may form in quasar accretion disks, and we discuss possible observational consequences. The structure and stability of very massive stars are reviewed. Because of high accretion rates, quasar disks are…
Discs of gas and dust are ubiquitous around protostars. Hypothetical disc viscosity is thought to cause the gas and dust to accrete onto the star. Turbulence within the disc might be the source of this disc viscosity. However, observed…
The collapse of massive molecular clumps can produce high mass stars, but the evolution is not simply a scaled-up version of low mass star formation. Outflows and radiative effects strongly hinder the formation of massive stars via…