[MAW2001] LBS8-MM12 , the SIMBAD biblio

We report the results of a submillimeter dust continuum survey of the protoclusters NGC 2068 and NGC 2071 in Orion B carried out at 850µm and 450µm with SCUBA on JCMT. The mapped region is ∼32'x18' in size (∼4pcx2pc) and consists of filamentary dense cores which break up into small-scale (∼5000AU) fragments, including 70 starless condensations and 5 circumstellar envelopes/disks. The starless condensations, seen on the same spatial scales as protostellar envelopes, are likely to be gravitationally bound and pre-stellar in nature. Their mass spectrum, ranging from ∼0.3M_☉ to ∼5M_☉, is reminiscent of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Their mass-size relation suggests that they originate from gravitationally-driven fragmentation. We thus argue that pre-collapse cloud fragmentation plays a major role in shaping the IMF.