Related papers: Analytical theory for the initial mass function: C…
We introduce a new multi-power-law distribution for the Initial Mass Function (IMF) to explore its potential properties. It follows on prior work that introduced mechanisms accounting for mass accretion in star formation, developed within…
The ATLAS3D Survey has reported evidence for a non-universal stellar initial mass function (IMF) for early type galaxies (ETGs) (Cappellari et al. 2012, 2013b,a). The IMF was constrained by comparing stellar mass measurements from kinematic…
We review recent high spatial resolution millimeter continuum and spectral line observations of (proto-)cluster regions. These observations reveal that the mass distribution of prestellar cores is consistent with the initial mass function…
In the present work we examined the hypothesis that, a core mass function (CMF), such as the one deduced for cores in the Orion molecular cloud (OMC), could possibly be the primogenitor of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Using the…
We examine the initial mass functions (IMFs) of stars produced by different molecular core mass functions. Simulations suggest that more massive cores produce more stars, so we propose a model in which the average number of stars formed in…
We conduct numerical experiments in which we systematically vary the initial density over four orders of magnitude and the turbulent velocity over a factor ten. In a companion paper, we investigate the dependence of this distribution on the…
Star formation is intimately linked to the dynamical evolution of molecular clouds. Turbulent fragmentation determines where and when protostellar cores form, and how they contract and grow in mass via accretion from the surrounding cloud…
We review recent determinations of the present day and initial mass functions in various components of the Galaxy, disk, spheroid, young and globular clusters. As a general feature, the IMF is well described by a power-law form for $m\ga 1…
We derive the mass function of condensations (clumps) which were formed through a turbulent cascade over a range of spatial scales $L\le20$ pc during early, predominantly turbulent evolution of a molecular cloud. The approach rests upon the…
This work explores the mathematical properties of a distribution introduced by Basu & Jones (2004), and applies it to model the stellar initial mass function (IMF). The distribution arises simply from an initial lognormal distribution,…
Using an SPH simulation of a star-forming region in a molecular cloud, we show that the emergence of a clump mass function (CMF) resembling the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a ubiquitous feature of molecular cloud structure, but…
[Abridged] Evidence favouring a Gaussian initial globular cluster mass function has accumulated over recent years. We show that an approximately Gaussian mass function is naturally generated from a power-law mass distribution of…
We revisit the interpretation of blue-excess molecular lines from dense collapsing cores, considering recent numerical results that suggest prestellar core collapse occurs from the outside-in, and not inside-out. We thus create synthetic…
We investigate the core mass distribution (CMD) resulting from numerical models of turbulent fragmentation of molecular clouds. In particular we study its dependence on the sonic root-mean-square Mach number $\Ms$. We analyze simulations…
We investigate numerically and semi-analytically the collapse of low-mass, rotating prestellar cores. Initially, the cores are in approximate equilibrium with low rotation (the initial ratio of thermal to gravitational energy is $\alpha_0…
A fraction of the dense cores within a turbulent molecular cloud will eventually collapse to form stars. Identifying the physical criteria for instability and analyzing critical core properties is therefore necessary to star formation…
In an improved model of protostar mass functions (PMFs), protostars gain mass from isothermal cores in turbulent clumps. Their mass accretion rate is similar to Shu accretion at low mass, and to reduced Bondi accretion at high mass.…
A wealth of observations recently challenged the notion of a universal stellar initial mass function (IMF) by showing evidences in favour of a variability of this statistical indicator as a function of galaxy properties. I present…
The initial mass function (IMF) is a construct that describes the distribution of stellar masses for a newly formed population of stars. It is a fundamental element underlying all of star and galaxy formation, and has been the subject of…
Fifty years after Ed Salpeter's seminal paper, tremendous progress both on the observational and theoretical sides allow a fairly accurate determination of the Galactic IMF not only down to the hydrogen-burning limit but into the brown…