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Recent work has suggested that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is not universal, but rather is correlated with galaxy stellar mass, stellar velocity dispersion, or morphological type. In this paper, we investigate variations of the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-05 A. A. Dutton , T. Treu , B. J. Brewer , P. J. Marshall , M. W. Auger , M. Barnabe , D. C. Koo , A. S. Bolton , L. V. E. Koopmans

We measure the high-mass stellar initial mass function (IMF) from resolved stars in M33 young stellar clusters. Leveraging \textit{Hubble Space Telescope's} high resolving power, we fully model the IMF probabilistically. We first model the…

We use numerical simulations of the fragmentation of a 1000 solar mass molecular cloud and the formation of a stellar cluster to study how the initial conditions for star formation affect the resulting initial mass function (IMF). In…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-11 I. A. Bonnell , C. J. Clarke , M. R. Bate

We examine variations of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in extreme environments within the formalism derived by Hennebelle \& Chabrier. We focus on conditions encountered in progenitors of massive early type galaxies and starburst…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-23 G. Chabrier , P. Hennebelle , P. Charlot

The observed stellar initial mass function (IMF) appears to vary, becoming bottom-heavy in the centres of the most massive, metal-rich early-type galaxies. It is still unclear what physical processes might cause this IMF variation. In this…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-10-07 Timothy A. Davis , Freeke van de Voort

We show that the same initial mass function (IMF) can result from very different modes of star formation from very similar underlying core and/or system mass functions. In particular, we show that the canonical IMF can be recovered from…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-13 Simon P Goodwin , M B N Kouwenhoven

It is frequently debated in literature whether a "standard" Initial Mass Function (IMF) - meaning an IMF of the kind usually adopted to explain the chemical evolution in the local Solar Neighbourhood - can account for the observed metal…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 L. Portinari , A. Moretti , C. Chiosi , J. Sommer-Larsen

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

In this chapter, we review some historical understanding and recent advances on the Initial Mass Function (IMF) and the Core Mass Function (CMF), both in terms of observations and theories. We focus mostly on star formation in clustered…

How do stars that are more massive than the Sun form, and thus how is the stellar initial mass function (IMF) established? Such intermediate- and high-mass stars may be born from relatively massive pre-stellar gas cores, which are more…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-15 Jonathan C. Tan , Shuo Kong , Michael J. Butler , Paola Caselli , Francesco Fontani

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is commonly assumed to be an invariant probability density distribution function of initial stellar masses being represented by the canonical IMF. As a consequence the galaxy-wide IMF (gwIMF), defined…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2018-11-28 T. Jerabkova , A. H. Zonoozi , P. Kroupa , G. Beccari , Z. Yan , A. Vazdekis , Z. -Y. Zhang

We examine the physical parameters that affect the accumulation of gas in molecular clouds to high column densities where the formation of stars takes place. In particular, we analyze the dense gas mass fraction (DGMF) in a set of…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-15 Jouni Kainulainen , Christoph Federrath , Thomas Henning

Recently, Hennebelle and Chabrier (2008) derived an analytical theory for the mass spectrum of non self-gravitating clumps associated with overdensities in molecular clouds and for the initial mass function of gravitationally bound…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-13 Patrick Hennebelle , Gilles Chabrier

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…

A universal stellar initial mass function (IMF) should not be expected from theoretical models of star formation, but little conclusive observational evidence for a variable IMF has been uncovered. In this paper, a parameterization of the…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-06-01 Albert Sneppen , Charles L. Steinhardt , Hagan Hensley , Adam S. Jermyn , Basel Mostafa , John R. Weaver

The Stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) characterizes the mass distribution of newly formed stars in various cosmic environments, serving as a fundamental assumption in astrophysical research. Recent findings challenge the prevalent notion…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-05-29 Zhiqiang Yan , Jiadong Li , Pavel Kroupa , Tereza Jerabkova , Eda Gjergo , Zhi-Yu Zhang

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…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2014-11-20 T. Treu , M. W. Auger , L. V. E. Koopmans , R. Gavazzi , P. J. Marshall , A. S. Bolton

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses that form in a given star formation event. The long main-sequence lifetimes of low-mass stars mean that the IMF in this regime (below $\sim 1…

The fragmentation of star-forming interstellar clouds, and the resulting stellar initial mass function (IMF), is strongly affected by the temperature structure of the collapsing gas. Since radiation feedback from embedded stars can modify…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-14 Mark R. Krumholz , Andrew J. Cunningham , Richard I. Klein , Christopher F. McKee

The stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) seems to be close to universal in the local star-forming regions. However, this quantity of a newborn stellar population responds differently at gas metallicities $Z \sim$ $Z_\odot$ than $Z$ = 0. A…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-03-31 Rafeel Riaz , Dominik R. G. Schleicher , Siegfried Vanaverbeke , Ralf S. Klessen