Radiation Feedback and the Formation of Stars

Star formation plays a major role in the evolution of our Universe and understanding the interstellar medium structure in the vicinity of young massive stars can provide crucial information of the star formation process and the feedback effects from the high energy ionising radiation from these stars. A number of unsolved problems in high mass star formation depend on our understanding of the way radiation from newly born stars interacts with the surrounding environment. In this talk I will review some of the open questions that relate to this radiation feedback, as well as outline how these are currently being or will be tackled in the near future. I will discuss how massive OB stars can shape their surrounding by means of ionising radiation influencing the formation of successive generation of stars, and driving turbulence in the interstellar medium. Understanding the extent and efficiency of this radiation feedback requires the solution of the radiative transfer problem in the context of large scale hydrodynamical simulation.