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| EPoS Contribution |
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Mapping the Core Mass Function (CMF) into the Stellar IMF
Anthony Whitworth Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales,UK | |
| If (IF!) the shape of the Stellar IMF is determined by the shape of the CMF, as suggested both by observers (e.g. Motte et al. 1998; Koenyves et al. 2010) and theorists (Padoan & Nordlund 2002; Henebelle & Chabrier 2009) the mapping from the CMF to the StIMF must be self-similar, and one is obliged to explore the consequences of this rather challenging conclusion. We demonstrate that two almost inevitable consequences are that a core typically spawns between 3 and 4 protostars, and that the star formation efficiency (the fraction of the core's mass going into stars) is high (60% to 100%). The alternative (i.e. that the mapping is not self similar) sits more happily with most people's perceptions, but in this case theories for the origin of the CMF should be presented as such, and not as theories for the origin of the IMF. Moreover there are consequences here too. For example, if the mean number of stars spawned by a core increases with the core's mass, the CMF should have a shallower slope than the StIMF at high masses, that is unless this is compensated by the star formation efficiency increasing with core mass at the same rate. | |
| Collaborators: Katy Holman (Cardiff), Steffi Walch (MPIfA, Garching), Simon Goodwin (Sheffield) |
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