Related papers: The bimodal initial mass function in the Orion Neb…

Recent observations and theories have presented a strong challenge to the universality of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in extreme environments. A notable example has been found for starburst conditions, where evidence favours a…

Context. We use Hubble Space Telescope photometry of six rich, compact star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with ages ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 Gyr, to derive the clusters' stellar mass functions (MFs) at their half-mass radii.…

Context: The determination of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of massive galaxies is one of the open problems in cosmology. Strong gravitational lensing is one of the few methods that allow us to constrain the IMF outside of the…

We present wide-field near-infrared (JHK) images of the young, 2 Myr IC 348 cluster taken with FLAMINGOS. We use these new data to construct an infrared census of sources, which is sensitive enough to detect a 10 Mjup brown dwarf seen…

(ABRIDGED) We have analysed the near-infrared photometric data from the Fourth Data Release (DR4) of the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Suvey (UKIDSS) Galactic Clusters Survey (GCS) to derive the cluster luminosity and mass functions, evaluate the…

Few topics in astronomy initiate such vigorous discussion as whether or not the initial mass function (IMF) of stars is universal, or instead sensitive to the initial conditions of star formation. The distinction is of critical importance:…

(abridged) The stellar initial mass function (IMF) can be conveniently represented as a canonical two-part power law function and is largely invariant for star formation regions evident in the Local Group of galaxies. The IMF is a…

We determine an absolute calibration of the initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies, by studying a sample of 56 gravitational lenses identified by the SLACS Survey. Under the assumption of standard Navarro, Frenk & White dark…

We performed a deep wide field optical survey of the young (~100-150 Myr) open cluster Blanco1 to study its low mass population well down into the brown dwarf regime and estimate its mass function over the whole cluster mass range.The…

The debate about the universality of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) revolves around two competing lines of evidence. While measurements in the Milky Way, an archetypal spiral galaxy, seem to support an invariant IMF, the observed…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is an underlying distribution function which determines many important observables, from the number of ionizing photons in a population of some age and metallicity, through the creation rate of…

I use recent photometric and stellar velocity dispersion measurements of the super-star-clusters (SSCs) NGC 1569A and NGC 1705-1 to determine their present-day luminosity/mass (L_V/M) ratios. I then use the inferred L_V/M ratios, together…

We report the detection of spatially-extended mid-infrared emission around the luminous embedded star IRc9 in OMC-1, as seen in 8.8, 11.7, and 18.3 micron images obtained with T-ReCS on Gemini South. The extended emission is asymmetric, and…

The mass distribution of dense cores is a potential key to understand the process of star formation. Applying dendrogram analysis to the CARMA-NRO Orion C$^{18}$O ($J$=1--0) data, we identify 2342 dense cores, about 22 \% of which have…

Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) have masses between the $10^2\!-\!10^6$ M$_\odot$ and are key to our understanding of the formation of massive black holes. The known population of IMBH remains small, with a few hundred candidates and…

We determine the mass functions (MFs) and the dynamical parameters of 15 nearby open clusters (OCs) using the unprecedented data set of the Gaia Early Data Release 3. We select the members of each cluster by combining the photometric…

Recent observations of globular clusters (GCs) provide evidence that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) may not be universal, suggesting specifically that the IMF grows increasingly top-heavy with decreasing metallicity and increasing…

We present new Spitzer IRAC/PU/MIPS photometry from 3.6 to 24 um, and new Gemini GMOS photometry at 0.48 um, of the young brown dwarf eclipsing binary 2MASS J05352184-0546085, located in the Orion Nebula Cluster. No excess disk emission is…

We review recent advances in our understanding of the origin of the initial mass function (IMF). We emphasize the use of numerical simulations to investigate how each physical process involved in star formation affects the resulting IMF. We…

Walraven photometry of established and probable members of the Orion OB1 association is presented. Effective temperature, surface gravity, luminosity and mass are derived for all stars, using atmosphere models by Kurucz (1979). Absolute…