  We present an analysis of star-forming gas cores in an SPH simulation of a
Giant Molecular Cloud. We identify cores using their deep potential wells. This
yields a smoother distribution with clearer boundaries than density.
Additionally, this gives an indication of future collapse, as bound potential
cores (p-cores) represent the earliest stages of fragmentation in molecular
clouds. We find that the mass function of the p-cores resembles the stellar IMF
and the observed clump mass function, although p-core masses (~0.7 Msol) are
smaller than typical density clumps. The bound p-cores are generally subsonic,
have internal substructure, and are only quasi-spherical. We see no evidence of
massive bound cores supported by turbulence. We trace the evolution of the
p-cores forward in time, and investigate the connection between the original
p-core mass and the stellar mass that formed from it. We find that there is a
poor correlation, with considerable scatter suggesting accretion onto the core
is dependent on more factors than just the initial core mass. During the
accretion process the p-cores accrete from beyond the region first bound,
highlighting the importance of the core environment to its subsequent
evolution.
