The molecular clouds in our Galaxy are the sites for the formation of stars. According to current understanding the formation of stars involves a complex feed-back, and presumably self-regulating, energy-transforming scheme of non-linear, non-equilibrium physics and chemistry. The building blocks are ensembles of elementary particles, atoms, molecules and solid state particles being subject to gravitational and electromagnetic interactions. These forces eventually bring order into chaos, `creating' out of close to nothingness a stellar body that is dense and hot enough to ignite and maintain thermonuclear fusion reactions, as in our Sun.
The research in the field of star formation at Stockholm Observatory is oriented along three major lines: (i) The study of the media forming stars, with particular emphasis on the understanding of the initial physical and chemical conditions as functions of space and time. (ii) The study of ensembles of very young stellar objects, in order to empirically determine the mass distribution spectrum at stellar birth. (iii) The study of the dynamics of forming stars, especially during the earliest, protostellar phases.