Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: The origin and possible universality of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a major issue in astrophysics. One of the main objectives of the Herschel Gould Belt Survey is to clarify the link between the prestellar core mass function (CMF) and the IMF. We present and discuss the core mass function derived from Herschel data for the large population of prestellar cores discovered with SPIRE and PACS in the Aquila rift cloud complex at d ~ 260 pc. We detect a total of 541 starless cores in the entire ~11 deg2 area of the field imaged at 70–500 μm with SPIRE/PACS. Most of these cores appear to be gravitationally bound, and thus prestellar in nature. Our Herschel results confirm that the shape of the prestellar CMF resembles the stellar IMF, with much higher quality statistics than earlier submillimeter continuum ground-based surveys.
Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Authors: V. Könyves, Ph. André, A. Men'shchikov, N. Schneider, D. Arzoumanian, S. Bontemps, M. Attard, F. Motte, P. Didelon, A. Maury, A. Abergel, B. Ali, J.-P. Baluteau, J.-Ph. Bernard, L. Cambrésy, P. Cox, J. Di Francesco, A. M. di Giorgio, M. J. Griffin, P. Hargrave, M. Huang, J. Kirk, J. Z. Li, P. Martin, V. Minier, S. Molinari, G. Olofsson, S. Pezzuto, D. Russeil, H. Roussel, P. Saraceno, M. Sauvage, B. Sibthorpe, L. Spinoglio, L. Testi, D. Ward-Thompson, G. White, C. D. Wilson, A. Woodcraft, A. Zavagno
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation, CEA Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Diderot, Université de Bordeaux, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers, European Southern Observatory, European Southern Observatory, Université Paris-Sud, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, California Institute of Technology, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Université de Provence Aix-Marseille I, Université de Toulouse, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, University of Victoria, National Research Council Canada, National Institute for Astrophysics, Cardiff University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Astronomical Observatories, University of Toronto, Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Royal Observatory, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, The Open University, McMaster University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Centro de Instrumentación Científico-Técnica, Universidad de Jaén, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Awards: G2144016747, G8509441750
OpenAlex ID: W2082790403