A Salpeter-like filament linear density function across nearby molecular clouds
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866916034749923328 |
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| author | Zhang, Guo-Yin Men'shchikov, Alexander Li, Jin-Zeng |
| author_facet | Zhang, Guo-Yin Men'shchikov, Alexander Li, Jin-Zeng |
| contents | The high-mass slope of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), first measured by E. Salpeter in 1955, appears universal across star-forming environments. Its origin remains a central unsolved problem in astrophysics. Using $getsf$, we measure the filament linear density function (FLDF) $-$ the mass-per-unit-length distribution of filaments $-$ across seven nearby molecular clouds (140$-$920 pc) spanning a wide range of star-forming activity. When integrated over the full hierarchy of spatial scales, the composite FLDF follows a power law with slope $α\approx 1.30-1.34$, indistinguishable from Salpeter's value of $1.35$. The universal stellar mass spectrum is therefore already encoded in the hierarchical filamentary structure of the cold interstellar medium, providing a physical basis for the IMF universality assumed throughout extragalactic and cosmological astrophysics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_14093 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Salpeter-like filament linear density function across nearby molecular clouds Zhang, Guo-Yin Men'shchikov, Alexander Li, Jin-Zeng Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics The high-mass slope of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), first measured by E. Salpeter in 1955, appears universal across star-forming environments. Its origin remains a central unsolved problem in astrophysics. Using $getsf$, we measure the filament linear density function (FLDF) $-$ the mass-per-unit-length distribution of filaments $-$ across seven nearby molecular clouds (140$-$920 pc) spanning a wide range of star-forming activity. When integrated over the full hierarchy of spatial scales, the composite FLDF follows a power law with slope $α\approx 1.30-1.34$, indistinguishable from Salpeter's value of $1.35$. The universal stellar mass spectrum is therefore already encoded in the hierarchical filamentary structure of the cold interstellar medium, providing a physical basis for the IMF universality assumed throughout extragalactic and cosmological astrophysics. |
| title | A Salpeter-like filament linear density function across nearby molecular clouds |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14093 |