Academic Team
Course Content
Type: Optional – AC Track – 2nd Trimester
Get ready to dive into one of the most dynamic frontiers of modern astrophysics: how stars and planets are born. This course gives you the theoretical and observational tools you need to decode the physics shaping everything from collapsing molecular clouds to fully fledged planetary systems.
We’ll start by exploring the core physics of star formation: the Jeans mass, the influence of magnetic fields, and the chaotic role of turbulence in shaping stellar nurseries. We then connect theory to observations, using data on pre–main-sequence stars and protoplanetary discs to place young stars on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram and to construct and interpret their spectral energy distributions.
From there, we zoom in on dust grains and gas in the interstellar medium—tiny players with huge importance—before moving into the terrain of planet formation and planet–disc interactions, supported by cutting-edge high-resolution observations. We will study exoplanet detection techniques, compare the diverse properties of known exoplanets, and finish by stepping into the interdisciplinary world of astrobiology.
To ground theory in practice, you’ll participate in two hands-on sessions: one focused on photometric classification of stars in young clusters, and one examining how disc parameters—such as mass, inner radius, or stellar temperature—shape the appearance of protoplanetary discs.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid understanding of the key physics, techniques, and remaining mysteries in star and planet formation—plus the analytical tools needed to explore this rapidly evolving field on your own.
List of topics
- The ISM and giant molecular clouds
- The collapse of a cloud and the formation of protostars
- T Tauri stars and Herbig Ae/Be stars
- Accretion processes
- Disc evolution and planet formation
- Planet-disc interaction
- Debris discs
- The Solar System
- Exoplanets (discovery and properties)
- Astrobiology
Reading List
- An introduction to Star Formation – Derk Ward-Thompson & Antony Whitworth
- The formation of stars – Steven Stahler and Francesco Palla