Sub-mm clumps at 450 and 850{mu}m in M17

The maps reveal more than 100 dusty clumps with deconvolved linear sizes of ~0.05-0.2pc and masses of ~0.8-120M_{sun}_, most of which are not associated with known mid-infrared point sources. Fitting the clump mass function with a double power law gives a mean power-law exponent of {alpha}high=-2.4+/-0.3 for the high-mass power law, consistent with the exponent of the Salpeter stellar mass function.

We show that a lognormal clump mass distribution with a peak at 4M_{sun}_ produces as good a fit to the clump mass function as does a double power law. This 4M_{sun}_ peak mass is well above the peak masses of both the stellar initial mass function and the mass function of clumps in low-mass star-forming regions. Despite the difference in intrinsic mass scale, the shape of the M17 clump mass function appears to be consistent with the shape of the core mass function in low-mass star-forming regions.