Related papers: Isothermal Fragmentation: Is there a low-mass cut-…
We examine the problem of the collapse and fragmentation of molecular clouds with a Gaussian density distribution with high resolution, double precision numerical simulations using the GADGET-2 code. To describe the thermodynamic properties…
We study the effect of varying the equation of state on the formation of stellar clusters in turbulent molecular clouds, using three-dimensional, smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. Our results show that the equation of state helps…
As a formation route for objects such as giant planets and low-mass stars in protostellar discs (as well as stars in AGN discs), theories of self-gravitating disc fragmentation need to be able to predict the initial masses of fragments. We…
We combine previously published interferometric and single-dish data of relatively nearby massive dense cores that are actively forming stars to test whether their `fragmentation level' is controlled by turbulent or thermal support. We find…
Dust and gas energetics are incorporated into a cluster-scale simulation of star formation in order to study the effect of heating and cooling on the star formation process. We build on our previous work by calculating separately the dust…
The stellar mass spectrum is an important property of the stellar cluster and a fundamental quantity to understand our Universe. The fragmentation of diffuse molecular cloud into stars is subject to physical processes such as gravity,…
We use numerical simulations of the fragmentation of a 1000 solar mass molecular cloud and the formation of a stellar cluster to study how the initial conditions for star formation affect the resulting initial mass function (IMF). In…
The observed rapid onset of star formation in molecular clouds requires rapid formation of dense fragments which can collapse individually before being overtaken by global gravitationally-driven flows. Many previous investigations have…
Aims: We study the fragmentation and dynamical properties of a massive starless gas clump at the onset of high-mass star formation. Methods: Based on Herschel continuum data we identify a massive gas clump that remains far-infrared dark up…
Understanding the fragmentation of the gas cloud and the formation of massive stars remains one of the most challenging questions of modern astrophysical research. Either the gas fragments in a Jeans-like fashion, after which the fragments…
Observed variations in the slope of the initial stellar mass function are shown to be consistent with a model in which the protostellar gas is randomly sampled from hierarchical clouds at a rate proportional to the square root of the local…
We study gravitational collapse of low-metallicity gas clouds and the formation of protostars by three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Grain growth, non-equilibrium chemistry, molecular cooling, and chemical heating are solved in a…
Primordial star formation appears to result in stars at least an order of magnitude more massive than modern star formation. It has been proposed that the transition from primordial to modern initial mass functions occurs due to the onset…
The collapse of the primordial gas in the density regime $\sim 10^{8}\hbox{--}10^{10}$ cm$^{-3}$ is controlled by the three-body $\rm H_2$ formation process, in which the gas can cool faster than free-fall time $\hbox{--}$ a condition…
The mass function of clumps observed in molecular clouds raises interesting theoretical issues, especially in its relation to the stellar initial mass function. We propose a statistical model of the mass function of prestellar cores (CMF),…
We attempt to verify recent claims (made using semi-analytic models) that for the collapse of spherical homogeneous molecular clouds, fragmentation of the self-gravitating disc that subsequently forms can be predicted using the cloud's…
The possibility that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) arises mostly from cloud structure is investigated with fractal Brownian motion (fBm) clouds that have power-law power spectra. An fBm cloud with a realistic projected power…
We present numerical investigations into the formation of massive stars from centrally condensed turbulent cores. The results of five hydrodynamical simulations are described, following the collapse of the core, fragmentation and the…
The thermodynamical evolution of gas during the collapse of the primordial star-forming cloud depends significantly on the initial degree of rotation. However, there is no clear understanding of how the initial rotation can affect the…
Performing 1D hydrodynamical calculations coupled with non-equilibrium processes for H2 formation, we pursue the thermal and dynamical evolution of filamentary primordial clouds and attempt to make an estimate on the mass of population III…