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The Evolution of Protostars: Insights from Ten Years of Infrared Surveys with Spitzer and Herschel

Stars form from the gravitational collapse of dense molecular cloud cores. In the protostellar phase, mass accretes from the core onto a protostar, likely through an accretion disk, and it is during this phase that the initial masses of stars and the initial conditions for planet formation are set. Over the past decade, new observational capabilities provided by the Spitzer Space Telescope and Herschel Space Observatory have enabled wide-field surveys of entire star-forming clouds with unprecedented sensitivity, resolution, and infrared wavelength coverage. We review resulting advances in the field, focusing both on the observations themselves and the constraints they place on theoretical models of star formation and protostellar evolution. We also emphasize open questions and outline new directions needed to further advance the field.