How are stars formed? This is one of the most fundamental questions in astronomy. It is therefore ironic that to date, no object has been unambiguously identified as a true protostar; an object which derives the bulk of its luminosity from accretion. While this may be ironic, it is not surprising. Stars are believed to form as a result of the gravitational collapse of a portion of a molecular cloud. Theory predicts that the cloud core in which the star is formed will be cold, dense and possess hundreds of magnitudes of extinction, rendering it opaque at visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Continuum observations at far-infrared, submillimeter, and millimeter wavelengths can be used to identify candidate protostars, but spectroscopic observations are needed to detect infall. The difficulties arise when there are systematic velocity fields present in the cloud core which are not the result of infall, such as would be produced by either a molecular outflow or rotation. In this dissertation we use both observations and theoretical models to sort through these problems and develop a strategy which could be used to identify and study protostars.

We have conducted a CS survey of the 10 outflows and 30 IRAS sources identified by Margulis (1987) in the Mon OB1 dark cloud to study the relationship between outflows, YSOs, and dense cores in this cloud. We have found that the CS J = 2 → 1 transition traces a large portion of the dense, low-velocity components of the outflows in Mon OB1. We find the mass of this component to be nearly an order of magnitude greater than previous estimates of the outflow "core" component. We detected little CS gas around the quiescent sources in this cloud. CS 2 → 1 temperatures and integrated intensities are 2 to 7 and 2 to 14 times higher, respectively, in the vicinities of IRAS sources associated with outflow activity than about the quiescent sources. This implies CS abundances, temperatures and/or densities are enhanced in regions where outflows impact the ambient cloud. The CS 2 → 1 emission is concentrated in two regions encompassing 6 of the 10 previously identified outflows in this cloud. Four of these six outflows are identifiable in CS. Two, previously identified as monopolar outflows, exhibit bipolar structure in CS. We have detected the CS J = 5 → 4 transition in the vicinity of 4 of the 10 outflows in this cloud, and around none of the quiescent IRAS sources. The CS 5 → 4 emission is extended around two of the outflow sources and has been mapped in these regions. CS J = 7 → 6 emission has been mapped about the brightest outflow source in this cloud. The morphology of the 7 → 6 region suggests it may have been part of the collimating structure for the outflow associated with this sources. The velocity structure and binding energies of the 5 → 4 and 7 → 6 cores suggest the outflows are disrupting these cores. The addition of the low-velocity CS outflow component to previous estimates of outflow energetics implies multiple generations of outflows need not be required to support this cloud against collapse. Our results neither support nor rule out the existence of fossil outflows in this cloud. A full-cloud, unbiased survey is required to search for such outflows.

New observations of the star formation region NGC 7538 are presented. Energetic outflows are commonly associated with regions of active star formation, despite the fact that the star formation process itself must be predominantly one of infall. This work shows how multi-wavelength observations can be used to study such phenomena on a variety of scales, in an attempt to infer their connection with star formation processes. Included are near-infrared spectroscopy of IRS 2; carbon monoxide J = 1-0 emission line mapping of the central regions of the NGC 7538 molecular cloud; and high spatial resolution maps of IRS 1 at 5 and 15 GHz. Other recent observational data are also considered, including far-infrared continua mapping, maser sources, and spectroscopy of numerous atomic and molecular species. A very large (r ≥ 1.5 pc) and massive (m ≥ 100 solar masses) distribution of high velocity (ΔV(FWHM) ≃ 35 - 40 km s⁻¹) molecular gas is identified in NGC 7538. The correspondence of far-infrared emission with the extent of the high velocity gas, along with the near-equality between the observed momentum flux of the gas and that which is available for radiation pressure L(*) /c (IRS 1-3) leads to the proposal of an in situ mechanism for radiative acceleration of the gas. This mechanism for radiative acceleration of the gas. This mechanism operates in cases where the optical depth of dust is insufficient to permit the "snowplow" outflow effect from strong radiation pressure. On the 1/2 - 1 pc minimum scale of these molecular observations, no obvious bipolarity or collimation is detected, consistent with the in situ mechanism. The highly luminous infrared source IRS 1 is identified as the probable source of this high velocity phenomenon. It is the most luminous source of the three (IRS 1-3) upon which the high velocity gas distribution is centered. The presence on a scale of 100 - 100 AU of a high density ridge perpendicular to a collimated distribution of ionized gas is strongly indicated in both mid-infrared and radio emission, and by anomalous optical and infrared extinctions. There is thus a startling discontinuity between collimation of gas on this scale and the lack of it observed at the arcminute scale of the molecular observations.

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Despite considerable progress in recent years, a complete description of the physical drivers of galaxy formation and evolution remains elusive, in part because of our poor understanding of star formation, and how star formation in galaxies is regulated by feedback from supernovae and massive stellar winds. Insight into the star formation histories of galaxies, and the interplay between star formation and feedback, can be gained by measuring their chemical abundances, which until recently has only been possible for galaxies in the nearby universe. However, reliable star formation and abundance calibrations have been hampered by various systematic uncertainties, and the lack of a suitable spectrophotometric sample with which to develop better calibrations. To address the limitations of existing surveys, we have obtained integrated optical spectra for a diverse sample of more than four hundred nearby star-forming galaxies. Using these data, in conjunction with observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we conduct a detailed analysis of optical star formation indicators, and develop empirical calibrations for the [O II] 3727 and H-beta 4861 nebular emission lines. Next, we investigate whether integrated spectroscopy of star forming galaxies can be used to infer their gas-phase oxygen abundances in the presence of radial abundance gradients, diffuse-ionized gas emission, and dust attenuation. We conclude that the integrated R23 parameter is generally insensitive to these systematic effects, enabling the gas-phase metallicity to be measured with a precision of +/-0.1 dex. We apply these methods to study the evolution in the luminosity-metallicity relation at 0<z<1 based on an analysis of more than 3500 I-band selected galaxies observed as part of the AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey, and data culled from the literature. Our principal results are that, at fixed luminosity, the mean gas-phase metallicity of luminous (MB<-19 mag), star-forming galaxies at z=1 is a factor of two lower than the gas-phase metallicity in comparably luminous galaxies at z=0. However, after accounting for the effects of luminosity evolution, we find that the amount of chemical evolution for luminous galaxies corresponds to an increase of only 10%-20% since z1⁺ё, assuming a direct evolutionary connection between nearby and distant star-forming galaxies.

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We have conducted three surveys to try and locate distant star forming galaxies. The most general survey used deep 2μ images with optical CCD photometry to locate objects with peculiar SEDs. Using the IR data we should be able to locate rapidly star forming galaxies to z = 25. With a 3σ detection limit of 18.5 at K we have found no objects with z > 5 but we have found several blue objects at z < 4 in 16min² of sky. This suggests tha there is no extremely luminous early phase of galaxy formation. We have found several blue objects at z < 4 in 10min² of sky. Of particular interest is an object which has a flat SED from V to K but shows a strong spectral break between B and V and a weaker break at 5800Å. We suggest these may be Lyman limit and Lyman α forest absorption at z-3.8 in a galaxy forming ≈400M(⊙) year⁻¹ of stars. A large sample of galaxies (100 objects) selected to have similar properties (R – I < .5, B – R > 1) has also been found. From this sample it appears this possible high redshift star forming phase only contributes 1/10 of the metal present in disks or spheroids. We have also found 30 Lyman α emission line companions to 12 z = 3 quasars. These objects have Lyman α equivalent widths (50Å) and luminosities (V = 24) consistent with galaxies forming ≈100M(⊙) year⁻¹ of stars. Also, 2 of the quasars have 8 companions and may be in cluster environments. A final survey analyzed optical to IR SEDs of luminous blue radio galaxies at z > 1. In these objects we find SEDs indicative of star formation rates between 10 and 100M(⊙) year⁻¹ but interpretation is difficult due to the AGN component of the sources. While these data seem to suggest a significant star forming phase taking place in galaxies at z ≈ 3-4, interpreting this result is difficult since we cannot determine if we are observing disk or spheroidal populations. In the case of the quasar companions and the radio galaxies, consideration of their dense environments and current epoch morphology suggest that these may be spheroids but these galaxies may not be typical of galaxies in general.

We present Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array 1.3, 3.6, and 6 cm continuum maps of compact radio sources in the Orion Nebular Cluster (ONC). We mosaicked 34 arcmin(2) at 1.3 cm, 70 arcmin(2) at 3.6 cm and 109 arcmin(2) at 6 cm, containing 778 near-infrared detected young stellar objects and 190 Hubble Space Telescope-identified proplyds (with significant overlap between those characterizations). We detected radio emission from 175 compact radio sources in the ONC, including 26 sources that were detected for the first time at these wavelengths. For each detected source, we fitted a simple free-free and dust emission model to characterize the radio emission. We extrapolate the free-free emission spectrum model for each source to ALMA bands to illustrate how these measurements could be used to correctly measure protoplanetary disk dust masses from submillimeter flux measurements. Finally, we compare the fluxes measured in this survey with previously measured fluxes for our targets, as well as four separate epochs of 1.3 cm data, to search for and quantify the variability of our sources.

One of the key questions in the field of star formation is the role of stellar feedback on the subsequent star formation process. The W3 giant molecular cloud complex at the western border of the W4 super bubble is thought to be influenced by the massive stars in W4. This paper presents a study of the star formation activity within AFGL. 333, a similar to 104 M-circle dot cloud within W3, using deep JHK(s) photometry obtained from the NOAO Extremely Wide Field Infrared Imager combined with Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry. Based on the infrared excess, we identify 812 candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) in the complex, of which 99 are Class I and 713 are Class II sources. The stellar density analysis of YSOs reveals three major stellar aggregates within AFGL. 333, namely AFGL. 333 Main, AFGL. 333 NW1 and AFGL. 333 NW2. The disk fraction within AFGL. 333 is estimated to be similar to 50%-60%. We use the extinction map made from the H - K-s colors of the background stars and CO data to understand the cloud structure and to estimate the cloud mass. From the stellar and cloud mass associated with AFGL. 333, we infer that the region is currently forming stars with an efficiency of similar to 4.5% and at a rate of similar to 2-3M(circle dot) Myr(-1) pc(-2). In general, the star formation activity within AFGL. 333 is comparable to that of nearby low mass star-forming regions. We do not find any strong evidence to suggest that the stellar feedback from the massive stars of nearby W4 super bubble has affected the global star formation properties of the AFGL. 333 region.