Identification of a turnover in the initial mass function of a young stellar cluster down to 0.5 M$_{J}$
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2024
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| _version_ | 1866916654143766528 |
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| author | De Furio, Matthew Meyer, Michael R. Greene, Thomas Hodapp, Klaus Johnstone, Doug Leisenring, Jarron Rieke, Marcia Robberto, Massimo Roellig, Thomas Cugno, Gabriele Fiorellino, Eleonora Manara, Carlo Raileanu, Roberta van Terwisga, Sierk |
| author_facet | De Furio, Matthew Meyer, Michael R. Greene, Thomas Hodapp, Klaus Johnstone, Doug Leisenring, Jarron Rieke, Marcia Robberto, Massimo Roellig, Thomas Cugno, Gabriele Fiorellino, Eleonora Manara, Carlo Raileanu, Roberta van Terwisga, Sierk |
| contents | A successful theory of star formation should predict the number of objects as a function of their mass produced through star-forming events. Previous studies in star-forming regions and the solar neighborhood identify a mass function increasing from the hydrogen-burning limit down to about 10 M$_{J}$. Theory predicts a limit to the fragmentation process, providing a natural turnover in the mass function down to the opacity limit of turbulent fragmentation thought to be near 1-10 M$_{J}$. Programs to date have not been sensitive enough to probe the hypothesized opacity limit of fragmentation. We present the first identification of a turnover in the initial mass function below 12 M$_{J}$ within NGC 2024, a young star-forming region. With JWST/NIRCam deep exposures across 0.7-5 $μ$m, we identified several free floating objects down to roughly 3 M$_{J}$ with sensitivity to 0.5 M$_{J}$. We present evidence for a double power law model increasing from about 60 M$_{J}$ to roughly 12 M$_{J}$, consistent with previous studies, followed by a decrease down to 0.5 M$_{J}$. Our results support the predictions of star and brown dwarf formation theory, identifying the theoretical turnover in the mass function and suggest the fundamental limit of turbulent fragmentation near 3 M$_{J}$. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_04624 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Identification of a turnover in the initial mass function of a young stellar cluster down to 0.5 M$_{J}$ De Furio, Matthew Meyer, Michael R. Greene, Thomas Hodapp, Klaus Johnstone, Doug Leisenring, Jarron Rieke, Marcia Robberto, Massimo Roellig, Thomas Cugno, Gabriele Fiorellino, Eleonora Manara, Carlo Raileanu, Roberta van Terwisga, Sierk Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies A successful theory of star formation should predict the number of objects as a function of their mass produced through star-forming events. Previous studies in star-forming regions and the solar neighborhood identify a mass function increasing from the hydrogen-burning limit down to about 10 M$_{J}$. Theory predicts a limit to the fragmentation process, providing a natural turnover in the mass function down to the opacity limit of turbulent fragmentation thought to be near 1-10 M$_{J}$. Programs to date have not been sensitive enough to probe the hypothesized opacity limit of fragmentation. We present the first identification of a turnover in the initial mass function below 12 M$_{J}$ within NGC 2024, a young star-forming region. With JWST/NIRCam deep exposures across 0.7-5 $μ$m, we identified several free floating objects down to roughly 3 M$_{J}$ with sensitivity to 0.5 M$_{J}$. We present evidence for a double power law model increasing from about 60 M$_{J}$ to roughly 12 M$_{J}$, consistent with previous studies, followed by a decrease down to 0.5 M$_{J}$. Our results support the predictions of star and brown dwarf formation theory, identifying the theoretical turnover in the mass function and suggest the fundamental limit of turbulent fragmentation near 3 M$_{J}$. |
| title | Identification of a turnover in the initial mass function of a young stellar cluster down to 0.5 M$_{J}$ |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.04624 |