Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-09-20
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
10 pages. Invited review "IMF@50" in honor of E. Salpeter
Scientific paper
Fifty years after Ed Salpeter's seminal paper, tremendous progress both on the observational and theoretical sides allow a fairly accurate determination of the Galactic IMF not only down to the hydrogen-burning limit but into the brown dwarf domain. The present review includes the most recent observations of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs to determine this IMF and the related Galactic mass budget. The IMF definitely exhibits a similar behaviour in various environments, disk, young and globular clusters, spheroid. Small scale dissipation of large scale compressible MHD turbulence seems to be the underlying triggering mechanism for star formation. Modern simulations of compressible MHD turbulence yield an IMF consistent with the one derived from observations.
No associations
LandOfFree
The initial mass function : from Salpeter 1955 to 2005 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The initial mass function : from Salpeter 1955 to 2005, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The initial mass function : from Salpeter 1955 to 2005 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-41767