The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center
The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and how it may vary with galactic environment is a matter of debate. Certain star formation theories involve a close connection between the IMF and the core mass function (CMF), so it is important to measure this CMF in a range of Milky Way locat...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb725 |
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| author | Alva V. I. Kinman Maya A. Petkova Jonathan C. Tan Giuliana Cosentino Yu Cheng |
| author_facet | Alva V. I. Kinman Maya A. Petkova Jonathan C. Tan Giuliana Cosentino Yu Cheng |
| author_sort | Alva V. I. Kinman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and how it may vary with galactic environment is a matter of debate. Certain star formation theories involve a close connection between the IMF and the core mass function (CMF), so it is important to measure this CMF in a range of Milky Way locations. Here we study the CMF of three Galactic center clouds: G0.253+0.016 (“The Brick”), Sagittarius B2-Deep South field (Sgr B2-DS), and Sagittarius C (Sgr C). We use Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 1 mm continuum images and identify cores as peaks in thermal dust emission via the dendrogram algorithm. We develop a completeness correction method via synthetic core insertion, utilizing a realistic mass-dependent size distribution. A power law $\,dN/d\,\mathrm{log}M\propto {M}^{-\alpha }$ is fit to the CMFs >2 M _⊙ . The Brick has a Salpeter-like index α = 1.28 ± 0.09, while the other regions have shallower indices: Sgr C has α = 0.99 ± 0.06, and Sgr B2-DS has α = 0.70 ± 0.03. When smoothed to a common resolution, the differences between the Brick and the others increase as we obtain α = 1.36 ± 0.12, α = 0.66 ± 0.06, and α = 0.62 ± 0.04, respectively, for masses ≳3 M _⊙ . Furthermore, we analyze the spatial distribution and mass segregation of cores: Sgr C and Sgr B2-DS show signs of mass segregation, but the Brick does not. We compare our results to several other CMFs from different Galactic regions derived with the same methods. Finally, we discuss how our results may help define an evolutionary sequence of star cluster formation and be used to test star formation theories. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d2d4442bff849c2b45c20f6feca33502025-08-20T01:49:47ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01982217410.3847/1538-4357/adb725The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic CenterAlva V. I. Kinman0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6570-9287Maya A. Petkova1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6362-8159Jonathan C. Tan2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3389-9142Giuliana Cosentino3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5551-9502Yu Cheng4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8691-4588Dept. of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg, SwedenDept. of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg, SwedenDept. of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg, Sweden; Dept. of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USADept. of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg, Sweden; European Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching, GermanyNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan , Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, JapanThe origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and how it may vary with galactic environment is a matter of debate. Certain star formation theories involve a close connection between the IMF and the core mass function (CMF), so it is important to measure this CMF in a range of Milky Way locations. Here we study the CMF of three Galactic center clouds: G0.253+0.016 (“The Brick”), Sagittarius B2-Deep South field (Sgr B2-DS), and Sagittarius C (Sgr C). We use Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 1 mm continuum images and identify cores as peaks in thermal dust emission via the dendrogram algorithm. We develop a completeness correction method via synthetic core insertion, utilizing a realistic mass-dependent size distribution. A power law $\,dN/d\,\mathrm{log}M\propto {M}^{-\alpha }$ is fit to the CMFs >2 M _⊙ . The Brick has a Salpeter-like index α = 1.28 ± 0.09, while the other regions have shallower indices: Sgr C has α = 0.99 ± 0.06, and Sgr B2-DS has α = 0.70 ± 0.03. When smoothed to a common resolution, the differences between the Brick and the others increase as we obtain α = 1.36 ± 0.12, α = 0.66 ± 0.06, and α = 0.62 ± 0.04, respectively, for masses ≳3 M _⊙ . Furthermore, we analyze the spatial distribution and mass segregation of cores: Sgr C and Sgr B2-DS show signs of mass segregation, but the Brick does not. We compare our results to several other CMFs from different Galactic regions derived with the same methods. Finally, we discuss how our results may help define an evolutionary sequence of star cluster formation and be used to test star formation theories.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb725Interstellar mediumStar formationGalactic center |
| spellingShingle | Alva V. I. Kinman Maya A. Petkova Jonathan C. Tan Giuliana Cosentino Yu Cheng The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center The Astrophysical Journal Interstellar medium Star formation Galactic center |
| title | The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center |
| title_full | The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center |
| title_fullStr | The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center |
| title_short | The Core Mass Function across Galactic Environments. IV. The Galactic Center |
| title_sort | core mass function across galactic environments iv the galactic center |
| topic | Interstellar medium Star formation Galactic center |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb725 |
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