Star Formation at milli-arcsecond resolution

¹ School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
² European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19, Chile

Abstract

This chapter discusses the use and possibilities of optical and infrared interferometry to study star formation. It starts with a brief overview of the star formation process and highlights the open questions from an observational point of view. These are found at the smallest scales, as this is, inevitably, where all the action such as accretion and outflows, occurs. We then use basic astrophysical concepts to assess which scales and conditions can be probed with existing interferometric set-ups for which we use the ESO/VLTI instrument suite as example. We will concentrate on the more massive stars observed at high resolution with continuum interferometry. Throughout, some of the most recent interferometric results are used as examples of the various processes discussed.