Magnetic Fields and Star Formation

TL;DR

This paper honors Leon Mestel's foundational work on magnetic fields in star formation, summarizing his contributions and recent developments in the field, highlighting ongoing challenges and research directions.

Contribution

It provides a personal overview of Mestel's pioneering role and recent advances in understanding magnetic influences on star formation.

Findings

Mestel established the framework for magnetic field roles in star formation.

Recent studies have addressed unresolved problems in magnetic star formation.

The paper highlights ongoing research challenges in the field.

Abstract

Research performed in the 1950s and 1960s by Leon Mestel on the roles of magnetic fields in star formation established the framework within which he and other key figures have conducted subsequent investigations on the subject. This short tribute to Leon contains a brief summary of some, but not all, of his ground breaking contributions in the area. It also mentions of some of the relevant problems that have received attention in the last few years. The coverage is not comprehensive, and the authors have drawn on their own results more and touched more briefly on those of others than they would in a normal review. Theirs is a personal contribution to the issue honouring Leon, one of the truly great gentlemen, wits, and most insightful of astrophysicists.