2004/07/06 by Simon P. Goodwin, S. P. Goodwin, Goodwin, Simon P. +5
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Global Financial Crisis and Policies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0407106
6 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the conference "The Young Local Universe", La Thuile (Italy), March 2004
arxiv created 2004/07/06 · openalex publication_date 2004/07/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
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 a core is equal to the initial number of Jeans masses in that core. Small-N systems decay through dynamical interactions, ejecting low-mass stars and brown dwarfs which populate the low-mass tail of the IMF. Stars which remain in cores are able to competitively accrete more gas and become more massive. We deduce the forms of the core mass functions required to explain the IMFs of Taurus, Orion, IC 348 and NGC 2547. These core mass functions fall into two categories - one which peaks at a few M_\odot to explain Taurus and NGC 2547, and one that peaks at around 0.2 M_\odot to explain Orion and IC 348.