Accretion disks in luminous young stellar objects

• Published in: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1 - 68
• Main Authors: Beltrán, M. T., de Wit, W. J.
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accretion; Accretion disks; Astronomy; Astrophysics; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Astrophysics and Cosmology; Observations and Techniques; Physical properties; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Planetology; Review Article; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Star & galaxy formation; Stars; Stars & galaxies; Summaries; T Tauri stars; Trends; Wavelengths; Techniques: interferometric; Techniques: high angular resolution; Stars: formation; Accretion: accretion disks
• ISSN: 0935-4956; 1432-0754
• DOI: 10.1007/s00159-015-0089-z

An observational review is provided of the properties of accretion disks around young stars. It concerns the primordial disks of intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects in embedded and optically revealed phases. The properties were derived from spatially resolved observations and, therefore, predominantly obtained with interferometric means, either in the radio/(sub)millimeter or in the optical/infrared wavelength regions. We make summaries and comparisons of the physical properties, kinematics, and dynamics of these circumstellar structures and delineate trends where possible. Amongst others, we report on a quadratic trend of mass accretion rates with mass from T Tauri stars to the highest mass young stellar objects and on the systematic difference in mass infall and accretion rates.