The Stellar Initial Mass Function: Constraints from Young Clusters and Theoretical Perspectives

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

30 pages, 3 figures, 1 table: To appear in Protostars & Planet IV, eds. V. Mannings, A. Boss, S. Russell (Tucson: The Universi

Scientific paper

We summarize recent observational and theoretical progress aimed at understanding the origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) with specific focus on galactic star-forming regions. We synthesize data from various efforts to determine the IMF in very young, partially-embedded stellar clusters and find: i) no significant variations in the low-mass IMF have been observed between different star-forming regions; and ii) the mass distributions of young stars just emerging from molecular clouds are consistent with having been drawn from the IMF derived from field stars in the solar neighborhood. These results apply only to gross characterizations of the IMF (e.g. the ratio of high to low mass stars); present observations do not rule out more subtle regional differences. Further studies are required in order to assess whether or not there is evidence for a universal turnover near the hydrogen--burning limit. We also provide a general framework for discussing theories of the IMF, and summarize recent work on several physical mechanisms which could play a role in determining the form of the stellar initial mass function.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The Stellar Initial Mass Function: Constraints from Young Clusters and Theoretical Perspectives 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 Stellar Initial Mass Function: Constraints from Young Clusters and Theoretical Perspectives, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Stellar Initial Mass Function: Constraints from Young Clusters and Theoretical Perspectives will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-624976

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.