Studying Star and Planet Formation With the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

Stars are considered the fundamental units of astronomy. It is mostly through their radiation that we probe the structure and evolution of the luminous matter in the universe. It is, therefore, essential to astrophysics to know how stars form and what determines their properties. Unraveling the mysteries of the star formation process will help us better understand the early universe and the formation of galaxies. Moreover, understanding how stars and planets form will give us an insight into the formation of the Earth and Sun, as well as the many other planetary systems which have recently been discovered. Millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength observations are of particular importance to this field, as they trace the gas and dust, and are essential for studying the dynamics of the material involved in the formation of stars and planets. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), a new international observatory in northern Chile, is already providing unprecedented data at these wavelengths. Once it is completed, ALMA will produce spectacular images of the gas and dust in the early stages of star and planet formation with a resolution similar to that of the Hubble Space Telescope. ALMA will certainly revolutionize the field of star and planet formation. I will present examples of current research in star and planet formation and the most recent ALMA results, and will also discuss the exciting future studies that we will be able to conduct with ALMA.