Recent advances in the instrumentation used to observe star forming regions in both our own Milky Way and in external galaxies have transformed the subject from a phenomenological pursuit into an increasingly unified, physical science. High resolution centimetre, millimetre, infrared, and optical studies of local star forming clouds have allowed us to probe the physics of star formation down to spatial scales approaching those of the solar system. These developments make it possible to better constrain the basic physical processes underlying star formation itself. At the same time, these new instruments have placed extragalactic studies on a footing detailed enough to allow comparison with star forming regions within our own galaxy. This revolution means that we will soon be able to link the physics of local star forming regions to the global star forming properties of galaxies. The entire structure of this NATO Advanced Study Institute was designed to explore this new view of the subject. This Institute on "Galactic and Extragalactic Star Formation" was held from June 21 -July 4, 1987 at the Conference Centre in the village of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The informal atmosphere of this lovely mountain resort stim ulated many valuable scientific exchanges. The Institute was funded by a major grant from NATO Scientific Affairs. Additional financial and I.I1oral assistance was provided by the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) and Mc Master University."

Magnetic Fields play a key role in the physics of star formation on all scales: from the formation of the large complexes of molecular clouds to the formation of solar-like planetary systems. The plasma physics involved is non-linear and very complex, which requires the development of large numerical codes. An additional difficulty is that the detection and study of magnetic fields is not easy from an observational point of view, and therefore theoretical models cannot easily be constrained.

In the week from April 21st to 25th in 2003, a meeting was held on the Campus of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) to join theoretical and observational efforts to address these issues. The objective was to define a set of relevant problems for the physics of star formation that can be properly addressed with the current or near-future instruments.

This book summarizes the results of this intensive week of work. The book is written in a comprehensive manner and reviews our current knowledge of the subject. It also represents an updated account of the ideas and thoughts of the scientists working in the field of Star Formation. The contributions are presented in six chapters which correspond to the six fundamental issues (sessions) on which the discussion was focused during the workshop: the physics of turbulence in the Interstellar Medium (ISM), the formation of structure in the ISM, the formation of stars within dense cores of molecular gas, the physics of accretion disks, the physics of outflows and their interaction with the ISM, and the interaction between the stellar magnetosphere and accretion disk.

Each chapter starts with a comprehensive summary written by one of the editors, which includes input from the contributions as well as the editor's own thoughts on the subject. For all these reasons the book is well-suited as a primer to introduce graduate students in the richness of this field of research.

Magnetic Fields play a key role in the physics of star formation on all scales: from the formation of the large complexes of molecular clouds to the formation of solar-like planetary systems. The plasma physics involved is non-linear and very complex, which requires the development of large numerical codes. An additional difficulty is that the detection and study of magnetic fields is not easy from an observational point of view, and therefore theoretical models cannot easily be constrained.

In the week from April 21st to 25th in 2003, a meeting was held on the Campus of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) to join theoretical and observational efforts to address these issues. The objective was to define a set of relevant problems for the physics of star formation that can be properly addressed with the current or near-future instruments.

This book summarizes the results of this intensive week of work. The book is written in a comprehensive manner and reviews our current knowledge of the subject. It also represents an updated account of the ideas and thoughts of the scientists working in the field of Star Formation. The contributions are presented in six chapters which correspond to the six fundamental issues (sessions) on which the discussion was focused during the workshop: the physics of turbulence in the Interstellar Medium (ISM), the formation of structure in the ISM, the formation of stars within dense cores of molecular gas, the physics of accretion disks, the physics of outflows and their interaction with the ISM, and the interaction between the stellar magnetosphere and accretion disk.

Each chapter starts with a comprehensive summary written by one of the editors, which includes input from the contributions as well as the editor's own thoughts on the subject. For all these reasons the book is well-suited as a primer to introduce graduate students in the richness of this field of research.