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We attempt to evaluate whether the integrated galactic IMF (IGIMF) is expected to be steeper than the IMF within individual clusters through direct evaluation of whether there is a systematic dependence of maximum stellar mass on cluster…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2010-09-02 C. Clarke , Th. Maschberger

We investigate whether the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is universal, or whether it varies significantly among young stellar clusters in the Milky Way. We propose a method to uncover the range of variation of the parameters that…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2017-10-30 Sami Dib , Stefan Schmeja , Sacha Hony

The galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function (gwIMF) of a galaxy in dependence of its metallicity and star formation rate (SFR) can be calculated by the integrated galactic IMF (IGIMF) theory. Lacchin et al. (2019) apply the IGIMF theory…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-05-20 Zhiqiang Yan , Tereza Jerabkova , Pavel Kroupa

We derive a semi-empirical galactic initial mass function (IMF) from observational constraints. We assume that the star formation rate in a galaxy can be expressed as the product of the IMF, $\psi (m)$, which is a smooth function of mass…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-20 Antonio Parravano , Christopher F. McKee , David J. Hollenbach

Semi-analytical evolution models of galaxies are a useful and computationally inexpensive tool for fast assessment of individual properties and their evolution. In this work, specifically the influence of a metallicity and star-formation…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-04-23 Lukas Hof , Pavel Kroupa , Gerhard Hensler , Jan Pflamm-Altenburg

Because direct measurements require resolved stellar populations including low-mass stars, determining the stellar initial mass function (IMF) has been a historically difficult problem even within our own Galaxy and impossible everywhere…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-03-26 Charles L. Steinhardt , Carter Meyerhoff , Alexander J. Luening

When a detailed model of a stellar population is unavailable, it is most common to assume that stellar masses are independently and identically distributed according to some distribution: the universal initial mass function (IMF). However,…

Recent observations indicate a lower Halpha to FUV ratio in dwarf galaxies than in brighter systems, a trend that could be explained by a truncated and/or steeper IMF in small galaxies. However, at low star formation rates (SFRs), the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-28 Michele Fumagalli , Robert L. da Silva , Mark R. Krumholz

Growing evidence in recent years suggests a systematic variation of the stellar initial mass function (IMF), being top-heavy for starburst galaxies and possibly bottom-heavy for massive ellipticals. Galaxy chemical evolution simulations…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-09-11 Zhiqiang Yan , Tereza Jerabkova , Pavel Kroupa , Alejandro Vazdekis

We have studied the effects of various initial mass functions (IMFs) on the chemical evolution of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr). In particular, we tested the effects of the integrated galactic initial mass function (IGIMF) on various…

Several recent observational studies have concluded that the initial mass function (IMF) of stars varies systematically with galaxy properties such as velocity dispersion. In this paper, we investigate the effect of linking the circular…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-18 Sean L. McGee , Ryosuke Goto , Michael L. Balogh

Our understanding of stellar systems depends on the adopted interpretation of the IMF, phi(m). Unfortunately, there is not a common interpretation of the IMF, which leads to different methodologies and diverging analysis of observational…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2013-07-02 Miguel Cervino , Carlos Romann-Zuniga , Valentina Luridiana , Amelia Bayo , Nestor Sanchez , Enrique Perez

The initial cluster mass function (ICMF) is a fundamental property of star formation in galaxies. To gauge its universality, we measure and compare the ICMFs in irregular and spiral galaxies. Our sample of irregular galaxies is based on 13…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-09-29 Jayce D. Dowell , Brent A. Buckalew , Jonathan C. Tan

The combination of the high-resolution ALMA, JWST and HST observations provides unprecedented insights into the connection between individual molecular clouds and their internal stellar populations in nearby galaxies. The molecular clouds…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-07-01 J. W. Zhou , Pavel Kroupa , Sami Dib

It is usually assumed that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) takes a universal form and that there exists a direct mapping between this and the distribution of natal core masses (the core mass function, CMF). The IMF and CMF have been…

Recent results form the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) report space densities for bright and massive galaxies at z>7 that far exceed expectations of theoretical models of galaxy formation, prompting a revision of our understanding of the…

The current status of both the observational evidence and the theory of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is reviewed, with particular attention to the two basic, apparently universal features shown by all observations of nearby…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Richard B. Larson

The initial mass function (IMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses in a population of newly born stars and is amongst the most fundamental concepts in astrophysics. It is not only the direct result of the star formation process…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2026-02-12 Amery Gration , Robert G. Izzard , Payel Das

The aim of this paper is to quantify the amplitude of the predicted plateau in [alpha/Fe] ratios associated with the most metal-poor stars of a galaxy. We assume that the initial mass function in galaxies is steeper if the star formation…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-17 S. Recchi , F. Calura , B. K. Gibson , P. Kroupa

This paper revisits the classical Kennicutt method for inferring the stellar initial mass function (IMF) from the integrated light properties of galaxies. The large size, uniform high quality data set from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR4…

Astrophysics · Physics 2011-04-20 Erik A. Hoversten , Karl Glazebrook