HMC Physics Colloquium
Tuesdays at 16:30 in Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, Room B460
Ann Esin
Harvey Mudd College
The Early Lives of Sun-Like Stars
Sept. 22, 2009
The study of star formation is currently one of the most
active areas of astrophysics, partly due to its connection with the
origin of planetary systems. Because young proto-stars tend to be
heavily embedded in gas and dust clouds, detailed imaging of these
objects during early critical stages of evolution is very difficult,
which makes testing theoretical models of stellar formation
problematic. Fortunately, several properties of young stars, as they
emerge into visibility, carry a lot of information about their early
evolution. Of particular importance is stellar rotational period,
since it provides us with clues about the angular momentum evolution
of a proto-star, which is the key to understanding star formation. I
will discuss how these periods can be measured and what the observed
period distributions tell us about the early lives of stars.