%0 Generic %1 maschberger2013function %A Maschberger, Thomas %D 2013 %K accretion function mass stars %R 10.1093/mnras/stt1656 %T On the mass function of stars growing in a flocculent medium %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.0603 %X Stars form in regions of very inhomogeneous densities and may have chaotic orbital motions. This leads to a time variation of the accretion rate, which will spread the masses over some mass range. We investigate the mass distribution functions that arise from fluctuating accretion rates in non-linear accretion, $m m^\alpha$. The distribution functions evolve in time and develop a power law tail attached to a lognormal body, like in numerical simulations of star formation. Small fluctuations may be modelled by a Gaussian and develop a power-law tail $m^-\alpha$ at the high-mass side for $> 1$ and at the low-mass side for $< 1$. Large fluctuations require that their distribution is strictly positive, for example, lognormal. For positive fluctuations the mass distribution function develops the power-law tail always at the high-mass hand side, independent of $\alpha$ larger or smaller than unity. Furthermore, we discuss Bondi-Hoyle accretion in a supersonically turbulent medium, the range of parameters for which non-linear stochastic growth could shape the stellar initial mass function, as well as the effects of a distribution of initial masses and growth times.

@misc{maschberger2013function, abstract = {Stars form in regions of very inhomogeneous densities and may have chaotic orbital motions. This leads to a time variation of the accretion rate, which will spread the masses over some mass range. We investigate the mass distribution functions that arise from fluctuating accretion rates in non-linear accretion, $\dot{m} \propto m^{\alpha}$. The distribution functions evolve in time and develop a power law tail attached to a lognormal body, like in numerical simulations of star formation. Small fluctuations may be modelled by a Gaussian and develop a power-law tail $\propto m^{-\alpha}$ at the high-mass side for $\alpha > 1$ and at the low-mass side for $\alpha < 1$. Large fluctuations require that their distribution is strictly positive, for example, lognormal. For positive fluctuations the mass distribution function develops the power-law tail always at the high-mass hand side, independent of $\alpha$ larger or smaller than unity. Furthermore, we discuss Bondi-Hoyle accretion in a supersonically turbulent medium, the range of parameters for which non-linear stochastic growth could shape the stellar initial mass function, as well as the effects of a distribution of initial masses and growth times.}, added-at = {2013-12-04T18:11:27.000+0100}, author = {Maschberger, Thomas}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2f5bf9c752b348c7fe708ba69e37be01e/miki}, description = {[1312.0603] On the mass function of stars growing in a flocculent medium}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stt1656}, interhash = {716be94c498ad99a3b721731f1f7cb9a}, intrahash = {f5bf9c752b348c7fe708ba69e37be01e}, keywords = {accretion function mass stars}, note = {cite arxiv:1312.0603Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS in press}, timestamp = {2013-12-04T18:11:27.000+0100}, title = {On the mass function of stars growing in a flocculent medium}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1312.0603}, year = 2013 }