The Mass Spectra of Cores in Turbulent Molecular Clouds and Implications for the Initial Mass Function

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dc.creatorBallesteros-Paredes, Javier
dc.creatorGazol, Adriana
dc.creatorKim, Jongsoo
dc.creatorKlessen, Ralf S.
dc.creatorJappsen, Anne-Katharina
dc.creatorTejero, Epimenio
dc.creator.
dc.date2005-09-20
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:43:19Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:43:19Z
dc.descriptionWe investigate the core mass distribution (CMD) resulting from numerical models of turbulent fragmentation of molecular clouds. In particular we study its dependence on the sonic root-mean-square Mach number $\Ms$. We analyze simulations with $\Ms$ ranging from 1 to 15 to show that, as $\Ms$ increases, the number of cores increases as well while their average mass decreases. This stems from the fact that high-Mach number flows produce many and strong shocks on intermediate to small spatial scales, leading to a highly-fragmented density structure. We also show that the CMD from purely turbulent fragmentation does not follow a single power-law, but it may be described by a function that changes continuously its shape, probably more similar to a log-normal function. The CMD in supersonic turbulent flows does not have a universal slope, and as consequence, cast some doubt on attempts to directly relate the CMD to a universal Initial Mass Function.
dc.description21 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0509591
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0509591
dc.identifierAstrophys.J.637:384-391,2006
dc.identifierdoi:10.1086/498228
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/182202
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleThe Mass Spectra of Cores in Turbulent Molecular Clouds and Implications for the Initial Mass Function
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