Related papers: Do fragmentation and accretion affect the stellar …
Understanding the processes that determine the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) is a critical unsolved problem, with profound implications for many areas of astrophysics. In molecular clouds, stars are formed in cores, gas condensations…
Analyses of strong gravitational lenses, galaxy-scale kinematics, and absorption line stellar population synthesis (SPS) have all concluded that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) varies within the massive early-type galaxy (ETG)…
One of the key mysteries of star formation is the origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). The IMF is observed to be nearly universal in the Milky Way and its satellites, and significant variations are only inferred in extreme…
The turnover in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) at low mass suggests the presence of two independent mass functions that combine in different ways above and below a characteristic mass given by the thermal Jeans mass in the cloud.…
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…
When a self-gravitating disc is subject to irradiation, its propensity to fragmentation will be affected. The strength of self-gravitating disc stresses is expected to dictate disc fragmentation: as the strength of these torques typically…
The initial mass function (IMF) is one of the most important functions in astrophysics because it is key to reconstructing the cosmological matter cycle, understanding the formation of super-massive black holes, and deciphering the light…
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…
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,…
There is substantial evidence that the initial mass function (IMF) may be a function of the local star formation conditions. In particular, the IMF is predicted to flatten with increasing local luminosity density, with the formation of…
Recent studies seem to suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies might be different from a classical Kroupa or Chabrier IMF, i.e. contain a larger fraction of the total mass in low-mass stars. From a…
It is frequently debated in literature whether a "standard" Initial Mass Function (IMF) - meaning an IMF of the kind usually adopted to explain the chemical evolution in the local Solar Neighbourhood - can account for the observed metal…
We investigated a volume-limited sample of LAMOST main-sequence stars with masses from 0.25 to 1 $M_{\odot}$ and distances of 150-350 pc to explore how the stellar initial mass function (IMF) varies with metallicity. We corrected the…
Metals enhance the cooling efficiency of molecular clouds, promoting fragmentation. Consequently, increasing the metallicity may boost the formation of low-mass stars. Within the integrated galaxy initial mass function (IGIMF) theory, this…
The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental issue in the theory of star formation. It is generally fit with a composite power law. Some clues on the progenitors can be found in dense starless cores that have a…
Recent observational and theoretical studies indicate that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) varies systematically with the environment (star formation rate - SFR, metallicity). Although the exact dependence of the IMF on those…
In spite of decades of theoretical efforts, the physical origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is still debated. Particularly crucial is the question of what sets the peak of the distribution. To investigate this issue we…
Several recent observational studies have concluded that the initial mass function (IMF) of stars varies systematically with galaxy properties such as velocity dispersion. In this paper, we investigate the effect of linking the circular…
A stochastic model of fragmentation of molecular clouds has been developed for studying the resulting Initial Mass Function (IMF) where the number of fragments, inter-occurrence time of fragmentation, masses and velocities of the fragments…
Magnetic fields play an important role in the dynamics of present-day molecular clouds. Recent work has shown that magnetic fields are equally important for primordial clouds, which form the first stars in the Universe. While the primordial…