A Simple Probabilistic Theory of Fragmentation

A simple model for the fragmentation process in a collapsing interstellar cloud is developed, which is based on the assumption that the successive stages of the fragmentation process can be treated as random events. The resulting stellar mass spectrum predicted by the model, defined in terms of the amount of mass per unit logarithmic mass interval, is approximately a gaussian function, in agreement with the empirical initial stellar mass spectrum. Some possible ways of accounting for differences in the initial mass spectrum between different stellar systems are also discussed.