280213 SE The exciting stellar lives up to the main sequence (2008W)

The general properties of stars (such as temperature, luminosity and metallicity) are established right at the beginning of stellar evolution for the rests of their lives. For this, basic astrophysical processes such as diffusion, accretion and rotation play an important role. In the dust and gas remnants of the stellar birth cloud, also planetary systems can form. Young clusters and associations are excellent testing grounds to study the first phases of stellar evolution: all members have about the same age and distance and were born from the same molecular cloud. In this seminar we will deal with the current research on the formation of stars, the earliest phases of stellar evolution and young open clusters. Where are the emphases of theoretical research and of observational programmes? Where and how is it possible to carry out excellent work in this field using international institutions (e.g., ESO)?