›Herbig Ae/Be stars: The missing link in star formation

The ESO workshop on Herbig Ae/Be stars is dedicated to the formation and pre-main sequence evolution of intermediate-mass stars bridging the transition between the distinctly different scenarios for the formation of low and high-mass stars. Over the past 20 years, new instruments have opened up the milli-arcsecond and sub-milli-arcsecond spatial scales where the disk physics takes place and planetary formation processes occur. ALMA will complement spatially and advance spectrally at high resolution the connection between the inner disks and the outer, dusty disks as observed by space-based observatories. The workshop aims to elucidate the evolution of the circumstellar material from the formation phases, during the star's PMS contraction, and into the dispersal and debris phases. Topics include (i) stellar interior and surface physics (ii) accretion/ejection (iii) disk evolution; (iv) the connection with debris disks and planet formation.