An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A concept of → star formation in which → high-mass stars and → low-mass stars form in different physical conditions involving different → molecular clouds.

Following the pioneering suggestion of Herbig (1962), successive investigations have generally supported the idea that star formation proceeds bimodally with respect to stellar mass. The star formation rate appears to differ both spatially and temporally for low mass and → massive stars. This is of considerable importance for galactic evolution, since the low-mass stars lock up mass and are long-lived, low luminosity survivors to the present epoch, whereas massive stars are short-lived, recycle and enrich interstellar gas, and leave dark remnants while producing a high luminosity per unit of mass (Silk, J., 1988, in Galactic and Extragalactic Star Formation, p. 503, eds. R. E. Pudritz and M. Fich).

See also: → bimodal; → star; → formation.