What does the IMF really tell us about star formation?

M. B.N. Kouwenhoven, S. P. Goodwin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Obtaining accurate measurements of the initial mass function (IMF) is often considered to be the key to understanding star formation, and a universal IMF is often assumed to imply a universal star formation process. Here, we illustrate that different modes of star formation can result in the same IMF, and that, in order to truly understand star formation, a deeper understanding of the primordial binary population is necessary. Detailed knowledge on the binary fraction, mass ratio distribution, and other binary parameters, as a function of mass, is a requirement for recovering the star formation process from stellar population measurements.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)368-369
Number of pages2
JournalProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Volume5
Issue numberS262
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Binaries: general
  • Mass function
  • Stars: formation

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