Formation and Evolution of Low Mass Stars

This book represents the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Insti­ tute on Formation and Evolution of Low Mass Stars held from 21 September to 2 October 1987 at Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Holding the meeting in Portugal recognized both the historical aspects and the bright future of astronomy in Portugal. In the early sixteenth century, the Portugese played an important role in the critical diffusion of classical and medieval knowledge which formed so large a part of scientific activity at that time. Navigation and course setting, brought to a high level by Portugese explorers, relied on mathematics and astronomy to produce precise tables of solar positions. In contemporary Portu­ gal, astronomy is the focus of renewed interest and support at the universities. It is thus particularly appropriate that the NATO Advanced Study Institute was held on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the friendly surroundings of the Costa Verde.

Inhalt

I. Introductory Lectures.- Introductory Background Lecture.- Infrared Emission Processes.- II. Formation of Low Mass Stars.- Observations of Young Stellar Objects.- Radio and (Sub)Millimet?r Observations of the Initial Conditions for Star Formation.- Infrared Energy Distributions and the Nature of Young Stellar Objects.- Near-Infrared Array Images of Low-Luminosity IRAS Sources in Dark Clouds.- Beginning and End of a Low-Mass Protostar.- Collapse of a Rotating Protostellar Cloud.- Accretion Discs.- Accretion Disks Around Young Stars.- Pre-Planetary Disks and Planet Formation.- III. Approach to the Main Sequence.- IRAS Observations.- Ultraviolet Observations.- X-Rays, Radio Emission, and Magnetism in Low-Mass Young Stars.- Emission Activity on T Tauri Stars.- Flows and Jets from Young Stars.- Pinch Instabilities in Young Stellar Object Jets.- Large Line Widths in HH Objects - The Bow Shock Model.- Some Aspects of T Tauri Variability.- Pre-Main Sequence Binaries.- IV. Main Sequence Evolution.- Long-Term Variations of Stellar Magnetic Activity in Lower Main Sequence Stars.- Rotational Velocity Evolution of Young Stars.- Kinematic Clues to the Origin and Evolution of Low Mass Contact Binaries.- Rotational Evolution of Low-Mass Stars.- The Main Sequence Evolution of Rotation and Chromospheric Activity in Solar-Type Stars.- Coronal Mass Ejections from a Rapidly-Rotating K0 Dwarf Star.- V. Future Prospects for Observations.- Stellar Observations Within the ESA Science Program.- NASA Missions to Study Star Formation and Evolution.- The Voyagers - A Cosmic Saga.- Author Index.- Object Index.