Protostellar Jets in Context

This veritable revolution in observation has been accompanied by an exponential growth in our ability to numerically simulate the launching and pro- gation of jets. Simulating the launching and propagation of a jet all the way from the vicinity of the star up to 4 several thousand AU (a size range of10 ) is now much closer.

This volume contains the proceedings of the Conference Protostellar Jets in Context held by the JETSET Marie Curie Research Training Network in July 2008. This meeting not only served to showcase some of the network's achievements but was also a platform to hear from, discuss and debate the recent findings of world-class astrophysicists in the field of protostellar jet research.

Jets from young stars are of course not an isolated astrophysical phenomenon. It is known that objects as diverse as young brown dwarfs, planetary nebulae, symbiotic stars, micro-quasars, AGN, and gamma-ray bursters produce jets. Thus in a series of talks, protostellar jets were put in context by comparing them with their often much larger brethren and also by considering the ubiquitous accretion disks that seem to be necessary for their formation.

With this spectrum of contributions on observations and the theory of astrophysical jets and accretion disks, this book serves as a comprehensive reference work for researchers and students alike.