Outflows in Regions of Star Formation

The high spatial and spectral resolution offered by the new generation of infrared spectrometers at ESO is optimally suited for the observational study of outflows from young stellar objects. Models of interstellar shock waves would benefit from observations of spectrally resolved line profiles. This applies also to attempts of measuring the rotation rates of jets very close to their driving source, which in general suffer considerable extinction. Observations of forbidden lines of ionised iron, [Fe II], could be used to accomplish this. The possibility of using rotational lines of molecular hydrogen, H2, to study the temporal evolution of outflow and disk gas is discussed. Similarly, high resolution IR observations of fluorescent water lines, H2O, open up the possibility to access outflow and disk water from the ground.