Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T00:38:08.826Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Observations of discs around protostars and young stars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

J. A. Sellwood
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Get access

Summary

Abstract The observational evidence for the presence of discs around protostars and young stars consists of spectral and polarimetric data from which the existence of circum-stellar discs are indirectly inferred and data in which discs are directly imaged. A review of both the direct and indirect evidence for discs is presented as well as summary of the properties of these discs and their relationship to bipolar outflows and stellar jets.

Introduction

This review of discs associated with protostars and young stars stars is limited to two types of young stellar objects (YSOs): infrared sources (objects that emit only at infrared wavelengths) and optically visible T Tauri and FU Orionis stars. Current star formation models suggest that discs should commonly be associated with protostars and young stars. In fact, the flattened nature of our Solar system provides strong circumstantial evidence that discs have played a role in the formation of at least one star and planetary system.

Interest in circum-stellar discs has been heightened by the recent discovery of bipolar molecular outflows and stellar jets associated with many YSOs. An attractive model for the collimation and generation of energetic outflows assumes that accretion of material onto a young star through a viscous disc ultimately powers this energetic phenomenon. Unfortunately, direct imaging of these discs has proven difficult and only a few circumstellar discs have been unambiguously detected. Instead the efforts to detect circumstellar discs have frequently uncovered evidence for much larger structures, often called “interstellar discs”, surrounding YSOs.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×