Related papers: The Pre-main Sequence: Challenges and Prospects fo…
Identifying the processes that determine strength, duration and variability of protostellar mass growth is a fundamental ingredient of any theory of star formation. I discuss protostellar mass accretion rates dM/dt from numerical models…
Developing a theory of low-mass star formation ($\sim 0.1$ to 3~M$_{\odot}$) remains one of the most elusive and important goals of theoretical astrophysics. The star-formation process is the outcome of the complex dynamics of interstellar…
We show that massive stars and stellar clusters are formed simultaneously, the global evolution of the forming cluster is what allows the central stars to become massive. We predict that massive star forming clumps, such as those observed…
Massive stars are the drivers of star formation and galactic dynamics due to their relatively short lives and explosive demises, thus impacting all of astrophysics. Since they are so impactful on their environments, through their winds on…
Chemical composition is a good tracer of hydrodynamical processes that occur in stars as they often lead to mixing and particle transport. By comparing abundances predicted by models and those observed in stars we can infer some constraints…
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…
Star formation involves the flow of gas and dust within molecular clouds into protostars and young stellar objects (YSOs) due to gravity. Along the way, these flows are shaped significantly by many other mechanisms, including pressure,…
Luminosities of pre-main sequence stars evolve during the protoplanetary disc lifetime. This has a significant impact on the heating of their surrounding protoplanetary disks, the natal environments of planets. Moreover, stars of different…
A star acquires much of its mass by accreting material from a disc. Accretion is probably not continuous but episodic. We have developed a method to include the effects of episodic accretion in simulations of star formation. Episodic…
The physical mechanism that allows massive stars to form is a major unsolved problem in astrophysics. Stars with masses $\gtsim 20$ $\msun$ reach the main sequence while still embedded in their natal clouds, and the immense radiation output…
New insights on stellar evolution and stellar interior physics are being made possible by asteroseismology, the study of stars by the observation of their natural, resonant oscillations. Asteroseismology is making significant contributions…
Studies of molecular clouds and young stars near the sun have provided invaluable insights into the process of star formation. Indeed, much of our physical understanding of this topic has been derived from such studies. Perhaps the two most…
Understanding the physics of how stars form is a highly-prioritized goal of modern Astrophysics, in part because star formation is linked to both galactic dynamics on large scales and to the formation of planets on small scales. It is…
We investigate molecular evolution in a star-forming core that is initially a hydrostatic starless core and collapses to form a low-mass protostar. The results of a one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics calculation are adopted as a…
The effects of atomic diffusion on internal and surface abundances of A and F pre-main-sequence stars with mass loss are studied in order to determine at what age the effects materialize, as well as to further understand the processes at…
We review progress in numerical simulations of star cluster formation. These simulations involve the bottom-up assembly of clusters through hierarchical mergers, which produces a fractal stellar distribution at young (~0.5 Myr) ages. The…
Aims: We study the evolution of stellar rotation and wind properties for low-mass main-sequence stars. Our aim is to use rotational evolution models to constrain the mass loss rates in stellar winds and to predict how their properties…
We model the formation of high-mass stars, specifying the accretion rate in terms of the instantaneous and final mass of the star, the ambient pressure of the star-forming region and the form of polytropic pressure support of the…
Evolved stars dominate galactic spectra, enrich the galactic medium, expand to change their planetary systems, eject winds of a complex nature, produce spectacular nebulae and illuminate them, and transfer material between binary…
We present the first coherent dynamical study of the cloud fragmentation-phase, collapse and early stellar evolution of a solar mass star. We determine young star properties as the consequence of the parent cloud evolution. Mass, luminosity…