Accretion and Dynamical Interactions in Small-N Star-Forming Clusters: I. N=5 case

Abstract

We present results from high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations which explore the effects of small scale clustering in star-forming regions. A large ensemble of small-N clusters with 5 stellar seeds have been modelled and the resulting properties of stars and brown dwarfs statistically derived and compared with observational data. Close dynamical interactions between the protostars and competitive accretion driven by the cloud collapse are shown to produce a distribution of final masses which is bimodal, with most of the mass residing in the binary components. When convolved with a suitable core mass function, the final distribution of masses resembles the observed IMF, both in the stellar and sub-stellar regime. Binaries and single stars are found to constitute two kinematically distinct populations, with about half of the singles attaining velocities > 2 km/s, which might deprive low mass star-forming regions of their lightest members in a few crossing times. The eccentricity distribution of binaries and multiples is found to follow a distribution similar to that of observed long period (uncircularized) binaries. We predict that many close binary stars should have wide brown dwarfs companions. Brown dwarfs and, in general, very low mass stars, would be rare as pure binary companions. The binary fraction should be a decreasing function of primary mass, with low-mass or sub-stellar primaries being scarce. Where such binaries exist, they are either expected to be close enough (semi-major axis ~ 10 AU) to survive strong interactions with more massive binaries or else born in very small molecular cloud cores.