This meeting will gather the astrophysical community working
theoretically and observationally in the field of massive star
formation. Various theoretical concepts for the formation of massive
stars are currently discussed, and it is important to derive
predictions which can be tested observationally, and which
discriminate between the various models. Furthermore, new
observations, ranging from the Infrared and X-ray regime to (sub)mm
and cm wavelengths, reveal intriguing features requiring theoretical
explanations.
Observationally, the Galactic plane surveys from Spitzer
(GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL) are expected to reveal many new insights, CARMA
is coming online soon, the submm regime will be exploited with new
instruments like APEX and the SMA, existing observatories are upgraded
(e.g., IRAM30m, JCMT, PdBI, VLA, VLTI, MOPRA) and new telescopes like ALMA, Herschel, and LBT are
at the horizon.
From the
theoretical/modeling perspective, the ever-increasing computational
power allows to incorporate more and more physical and chemical
parameters important for the formation of massive stars and their
surrounding clusters.
It is an important goal of this meeting that the
different "disciplines" in high-mass star formation research interact,
and together try to solve the outstanding questions of massive star
formation.
The format of the meeting should stress new results. A few selected
reviews will be given outlining the current status of the several
sub-fields, but the major focus will be on the presentation and
discussion of the recent results and the implications for the
formation of massive stars. Controversial discussion to constrain the
potential and limitations of observations, theory and modeling will
be highly encouraged. Furthermore, selected open panel discussions
about the hottest current topics may even better constrain the
directions the massive star formation community should head for.