How Stars Get Their Masses

How Stars Get Their Masses
Stella Offner, UMass Amherst
Date and time: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 - 2:00pm
Location: LGRT 419B
Category: ACFI Seminar
Abstract:

The distribution of stellar masses is a fundamental astrophysical quantity that impacts a wide range of problems from the amount of heavy elements in the universe to the formation of planets to galaxy evolution. However, the origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is not well understood. Theories for the IMF must answer two observational questions: why is the IMF so surprisingly invariant across a wide range of environments, and what are the key properties in extreme environments, such as the Galactic Center, that cause the IMF to be different? Addressing these questions presents a unique computational challenge due to the broad range of different physics and size scales in the star formation process. In this talk, I will describe current theories for the origin of the IMF and discuss what we have learned so far using high-resolution, multi-physics numerical simulations.