Star formation

Across the Galaxy there are cold regions (10-20 K) where the interstellar gas, mainly composed of molecular hydrogen, condenses to reach particle densities of 1000-10000 cm-3 and higher: these regions are found to give birth to new generations of stars. Since young stars are born inside cocoons of gas and dust, which provide the mass reservoir for the growing star but absorb the visible light, these early phases in the stellar evolution can be mainly studied through radio and (sub-) millimeter observations. Studies in this field make use of the emission coming from increasingly complex molecules which are relatively abundant in the proto-stellar environment, such as NH3, H2CO and CH3OH, in order to understand the dynamical processes and physical conditions taking place at distances from tens of thousands down to a few AU of the young stars.