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Related papers: An inventory of the stellar initial mass function …

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The stellar initial mass function (sIMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses formed in a single star formation event in a molecular cloud clump. It is fundamental to astrophysics and cosmology, shaping our understanding of…

We use stellar and dynamical mass profiles, combined with a stellar population analysis, of 32 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) at redshifts of 0.05 $\leq z \leq$ 0.30, to place constraints on their stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF). We…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-11-25 S. I. Loubser , H. Hoekstra , A. Babul , Y. M. Bahé , M. Donahue

The high-mass slope of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), first measured by E. Salpeter in 1955, appears universal across star-forming environments. Its origin remains a central unsolved problem in astrophysics. Using $getsf$, we…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-05-22 Guo-Yin Zhang , Alexander Men'shchikov , Jin-Zeng Li

The stellar initial-mass function (IMF) represents a fundamental quantity in astrophysics and cosmology, describing the mass distribution of stars from low to very-high masses. It is intimately linked to a wide variety of topics, including…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-09-17 Francesco Gabrielli , Lumen Boco , Giancarlo Ghirlanda , Om Sharan Salafia , Ruben Salvaterra , Mario Spera , Andrea Lapi

The manner in which the stellar initial mass function (IMF) scales with global galaxy properties is under debate. We use two hydrodynamical, cosmological simulations to predict possible trends for two self-consistent variable IMF…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2018-10-22 Christopher Barber , Joop Schaye , Robert A. Crain

We conduct a detailed lensing, dynamics and stellar population analysis of nine massive lens early-type galaxies (ETGs) from the X-Shooter Lens Survey (XLENS). Combining gravitational lensing constraints from HST imaging with…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-28 C. Spiniello , M. Barnabè , L. V. E. Koopmans , S. C. Trager

The initial mass function (IMF) is one of the most important functions in astrophysics because it is key to reconstructing the cosmological matter cycle, understanding the formation of super-massive black holes, and deciphering the light…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-12-30 Pavel Kroupa , Eda Gjergo , Tereza Jerabkova , Zhiqiang Yan

Observations of normal galactic star-forming regions suggest there is widespread near-uniformity in the initial stellar mass function (IMF) in spite of diverse physical conditions. Fluctuations may come largely from statistical effects and…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 B. G. Elmegreen

Using new long-slit spectroscopy obtained with X-Shooter at ESO-VLT, we study, for the first time, radial gradients of optical and Near-Infrared IMF-sensitive features in a representative sample of galaxies at the very high-mass end of the…

Observed variations in the slope of the initial stellar mass function are shown to be consistent with a model in which the protostellar gas is randomly sampled from hierarchical clouds at a rate proportional to the square root of the local…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 B. G. Elmegreen

The turnover in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) at low mass suggests the presence of two independent mass functions that combine in different ways above and below a characteristic mass given by the thermal Jeans mass in the cloud.…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 Bruce Elmegreen

Context: The Initial Mass Function (IMF) plays a crucial role on galaxy evolution and its implications on star formation theory make it a milestone for the next decade. It is in the intermediate and high mass ranges where the uncertainties…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2018-10-09 R. Mor , A. C. Robin , F. Figueras , B. Lemasle

We use recent microlensing observations toward the central bulge of the Galaxy to probe the overall stellar plus brown dwarf initial mass function (IMF) in these regions well within the brown dwarf domain. We find that the IMF is consistent…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-02-22 Gilles Chabrier , Romain Lenoble

The presence (and nature) of variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) at substantially sub-solar masses and metallicities ($m$$<$0.5M$_{\odot}$, [M/H]$\lesssim$$-$1) remains poorly constrained. Predictions from simulations vary…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-03-17 Roger E. Cohen , Mario Gennaro , Matteo Correnti , Kristen B. W. McQuinn , Vedant Chandra

We investigate the optical spectral region of spectra of 1000 stars searching for IMF-sensitive features to constrain the low-mass end of the initial mass function (IMF) slope in elliptical galaxies. We use the MILES stellar library in the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-15 Chiara Spiniello , Scott Trager , Léon V. E. Koopmans , Charlie Conroy

Using integral field spectroscopy, we demonstrate that gravity-sensitive absorption features in the zJ-band (0.9--1.35 \micron) can constrain the low-mass stellar initial mass function (IMF) in the cores of two elliptical galaxies, M85 and…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-05-01 R. Elliot Meyer , Suresh Sivanandam , Dae-Sik Moon

The universality or non-universality of the initial mass function (IMF) has significant implications for determining star formation rates and star formation histories from photometric properties of stellar populations. We reexamine whether…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-01-17 R. P. V. Rautio , A. E. Watkins , H. Salo , A. Venhola , J. H. Knapen , S. Comerón

We analyze the stellar initial mass functions (IMF) of a large sample of early type galaxies (ETGs) provided by MaNGA. The large number of IFU spectra of individual galaxies provide high signal-to-noise composite spectra that are essential…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-03-20 Shuang Zhou , H. J. Mo , Cheng Li , Zheng Zheng , Niu Li , Cheng Du , Shude Mao , Taniya Parikh , Richard R. Lane , Daniel Thomas

From a study of the integrated light properties of 200 globular clusters (GCs) in M31, Strader et al. found that the mass-to-light ratios are lower than what is expected from simple stellar population (SSP) models with a `canonical' stellar…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-23 Rosemary L. Shanahan , Mark Gieles

The distribution of stellar masses that form in one star-formation event in a given volume of space is called the initial mass function (IMF). The IMF has been estimated from low-mass brown dwarfs to very massive stars. Combining IMF…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-07 Pavel Kroupa