Résumé :
The IMF is one of the cornerstones of modern astrophysics and its
universality or potential variation has very important consequences on
the evolution of galaxies and their chemical enrichment, the
dynamics of interstellar gas, and the evolution of individual stellar
clusters.
In this talk, I will use three-dimensional numerical simulations of
turbulent, magnetized, and self-gravitating molecular clouds
as well as semi-analytical models of proto-cluster clumps to discuss
the origin and evolution of the dense core mass function (DCMF)
in star forming regions, and the transition from the DCMF to the
stellar initial mass function IMF. In particular, I will demonstrate
how several physical processes such as the coalescence of cores, gas
accretion by the cores and feedback in the form of stellar winds
by the newly formed massive stars shape the DCMF and the corresponding
IMF. The influence of different clump and core properties
(i.e., their density profiles, their contractions timescales,
concentrations, and level of turbulence) in the context of this
Accretion-Collapse-Feedback model will be presented, and their role in
generating variations in the IMF of stellar clusters highlighted.
Finally, I will address, whether the metallicity of the gas influences
the shape of the stellar IMF.
