Can magnetized turbulence set the mass scale of stars?

Understand

Understanding the evolution of self-gravitating, isothermal, magnetized gas is crucial for star formation, as these physical processes have been postulated to set the initial mass function (IMF).

• We present a suite of isothermal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using the GIZMO code, that resolve the formation of individual stars in giant molecular clouds (GMCs), spanning a range of Mach numbers found in observed GMCs.
• As in past works, the mean and median stellar masses are sensitive to numerical resolution, because they are sensitive to low-mass stars that contribute a vanishing fraction of the overall stellar mass.
• The {\em mass-weighted} median stellar mass $M_\mathrm{50}$ becomes insensitive to resolution once turbulent fragmentation is well-resolved.