ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT
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 core mass function (CMF) with a similar shape. In the low-mass...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98371 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-719X |
| _version_ | 1811084433741053952 |
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| author | Zhou, Tingtao Huang, Chelsea X. Lin, D. N. C. Gritschneder, Matthias Lau, Herbert |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Zhou, Tingtao Huang, Chelsea X. Lin, D. N. C. Gritschneder, Matthias Lau, Herbert |
| author_sort | Zhou, Tingtao |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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 core mass function (CMF) with a similar shape. In the low-mass end, these mass functions increase with mass, albeit the sample may be somewhat incomplete; in the high-mass end, the mass functions decrease with mass. There is an offset in the turn-over mass between the two mass distributions. The stellar mass for the IMF peak is lower than the corresponding core mass for the CMF peak in the Pipe Nebula by about a factor of three. Smaller offsets are found between the IMF and the CMFs in other nebulae. We suggest that the offset is likely induced during a starburst episode of global star formation which is triggered by the formation of a few O/B stars in the multi-phase media, which naturally emerged through the onset of thermal instability in the cloud-core formation process. We consider the scenario that the ignition of a few massive stars photoionizes the warm medium between the cores, increases the external pressure, reduces their Bonnor-Ebert mass, and triggers the collapse of some previously stable cores. We quantitatively reproduce the IMF in the low-mass end with the assumption of additional rotational fragmentation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:50:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/98371 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:50:39Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/983712022-09-28T10:22:26Z ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT Zhou, Tingtao Huang, Chelsea X. Lin, D. N. C. Gritschneder, Matthias Lau, Herbert Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Zhou, Tingtao 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 core mass function (CMF) with a similar shape. In the low-mass end, these mass functions increase with mass, albeit the sample may be somewhat incomplete; in the high-mass end, the mass functions decrease with mass. There is an offset in the turn-over mass between the two mass distributions. The stellar mass for the IMF peak is lower than the corresponding core mass for the CMF peak in the Pipe Nebula by about a factor of three. Smaller offsets are found between the IMF and the CMFs in other nebulae. We suggest that the offset is likely induced during a starburst episode of global star formation which is triggered by the formation of a few O/B stars in the multi-phase media, which naturally emerged through the onset of thermal instability in the cloud-core formation process. We consider the scenario that the ignition of a few massive stars photoionizes the warm medium between the cores, increases the external pressure, reduces their Bonnor-Ebert mass, and triggers the collapse of some previously stable cores. We quantitatively reproduce the IMF in the low-mass end with the assumption of additional rotational fragmentation. 2015-09-08T11:39:39Z 2015-09-08T11:39:39Z 2015-07 2013-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1538-4357 0004-637X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98371 Zhou, Tingtao, Chelsea X. Huang, D. N. C. Lin, Matthias Gritschneder, and Herbert Lau. “ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT.” The Astrophysical Journal 808, no. 1 (July 14, 2015): 10. © 2015 The American Astronomical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-719X en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/808/1/10 The Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf IOP Publishing IOP Publishing |
| spellingShingle | Zhou, Tingtao Huang, Chelsea X. Lin, D. N. C. Gritschneder, Matthias Lau, Herbert ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title | ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title_full | ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title_fullStr | ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title_full_unstemmed | ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title_short | ON THE IMF IN A TRIGGERED STAR FORMATION CONTEXT |
| title_sort | on the imf in a triggered star formation context |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98371 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1766-719X |
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