Magnetospheric accretion in T Tauri stars

The magnetic field of T Tauri stars is believed to be strong enough to disrupt the inner region of their accretion disk. At the inner disk edge, matter flows along the magnetic field lines at free fall velocity and accretes at the magnetic poles onto the star yielding hot accretion shocks on the stellar surface. I review the observational evidence supporting this magnetospheric accretion process in T Tauri stars and highlight recent results which point to a highly dynamic and time variable interaction between the inner disk and the stellar magnetosphere on timescales ranging from hours to months