EPoS Contribution

The early phase of binary star formation

Ralf Launhardt
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany

I will present an overview on past and ongoing observational programs and results on binary protostars and discuss recent (interferometric) results on the distribution of circumstellar masses and the evolution of angular momentum in these systems. Since "traditional" observations of protostars have relatively low angular resolution and are mostly interpreted in terms of single star formation, these new results shed more light on the details of low-mass star formation.