Investigating massive star formation with ALMAGAL: clump fragmentation and core evolution

Abstract: The majority of stars (including the Sun) form within cold, dense massive star-forming regions embedded in molecular clouds (clumps), in particular, within their compact substructures (cores). The mechanisms driving the fragmentation of clumps into cores and the properties of these cores are fundamental topics heavily investigated in current research, being able to give crucial information about the whole star formation process. In this talk, I will show how the ALMAGAL survey is now allowing to study these aspects with an unprecedented accuracy and statistical significance. In detail, I will present the core catalog extracted from high-resolution continuum images of a varied sample of 1000+ clumps, and characterize the statistical and physical properties of such fragments. Moreover, I will discuss how the core mass distribution changes with evolution, and how this relates to the ongoing clump fragmentation. Our results show that the most massive cores are found at later stages, and that the core mass growth goes in parallel with the fragmentation proceeding in the clump, ultimately favoring a clump-fed scenario for high-mass star formation.