Gas Dynamics and Magnetic Fields in Infrared Dark Clouds

Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany

Abstract

Almost two decades ago, the discovery of a handful of Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) heralded a new avenue for exploring the elusive early phases of massive star formation (Egan et al. 1998). Since then tremendous progress has been made in our understanding of these clouds. It is now well established that IRDCs are ubiquitous and harbor a broad spectrum of star forming stages. Thus studies of star formation and IRDCs are intricately tied together. I summarize some of the recent progress in understanding the magnetic field structure and gas dynamics in IRDCs in the context of high-mass star formation formation.