The Core Mass Function in the Massive Protocluster G286.21+0.17 revealed by ALMA

Yu Cheng, Jonathan C. Tan, Mengyao Liu, Shuo Kong, Wanggi Lim, Morten Andersen, Nicola Da Rio

Published 2017-06-20Version 1

We study the core mass function (CMF) of the massive protocluster G286.21+0.17 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array via 1.3 mm continuum emission at a resolution of 1.0" (2500 au). We have mapped a field of 5.3'$\times$5.3' centered on the protocluster clump. We measure the CMF in the central region, exploring various core detection algorithms, which give source numbers ranging from 60 to 125, depending on parameter selection. For masses $M\gtrsim1\:M_\odot$, the CMF can be fit with a power law of the form ${\rm{d}}N/{\rm{d}}{\rm{log}}M\propto{M}^{-\alpha}$ with $\alpha\simeq1.05-1.35$ in the fiducial cases, similar to the index of the Salpeter stellar initial mass function of 1.35. We discuss the implications of these results for star and star cluster formation theories.