Talk Details

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - 3:15pm

Henrik Beuther (MPIA):

"Massive Star Formation: Constraining Physical and Chemcial Processes with (sub)mm Interferometer Observations"

Abstract. Although massive stars shape the interstellar medium and whole galaxies tremendously throughout their whole life-time, we still have at most a relative rough understanding of the physical and chemical processes during massive star formation. Since high-mass stars form in a clustered mode deeply embedded within their natal gas and dust cores, high-spatial resolution at (sub)mm wavelengths is the tool of choice to investigate the associated processes. I will present recent results in this field with particular emphasis on four questions: What are the initial conditions for massive star formation? Do massive accretion disks exists, and if yes, what are their properties? How do massive gas clumps fragment and can we infer details about the formation of the Initial Mass Function? How do massive star-forming regions evolve chemically? At the end, a short outlook toward the coming Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) will be given.