What initial mass function results from successful streaming instability dominance?

Answer

A top-heavy initial mass function.

The streaming instability is proposed as a leading theoretical solution to allow dust to bypass the fragmentation and radial drift barriers by causing rapid, localized gravitational clumping of dust, leading directly to planetesimal formation. While it offers a faster path, the outcome of this process is specific. Simulations indicate that when the streaming instability successfully causes this rapid gravitational collapse, it produces a mass distribution that is skewed heavily toward the larger end of the scale. This is described as a 'top-heavy' initial mass function, meaning a large proportion of the available mass is concentrated into very large planetesimals, sometimes hundreds of kilometers in size, very early in the formation process.

What initial mass function results from successful streaming instability dominance?

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