Related papers: The formation of UCDs and massive GCs: Quasar-like…
Recent studies of dense clumps/cores in a number of regions of low-mass star formation have shown that the mass distribution of these clumps closely resembles the initial mass function (IMF) of field stars. One possible interpretation of…
Several observational and theoretical indications suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) becomes increasingly top-heavy (i.e., overabundant in high-mass stars with mass $m > 1M_{\odot}$) with decreasing metallicity and increasing gas…
Observations of mergers of multi-compact object systems offer insights to the formation processes of massive stars in globular clusters. Simulations of stellar clusters, may be used to understand and interpret observations. Simulations…
The spectral absorption lines in early-type galaxies contain a wealth of information regarding the detailed abundance pattern, star formation history, and stellar initial mass function (IMF) of the underlying stellar population. Using our…
Stars form from dense molecular cores, and the mass function of these cores (the CMF) is often found to be similar to the form of the stellar initial mass function (IMF). This suggests that the form of the IMF is the result of the form of…
We present a new approach in the study of the Initial Mass function (IMF) in external galaxies based on quasar microlensing observations. We use measurements of quasar microlensing magnifications in 24 lensed quasars to estimate the average…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies is the combination of the IMF of the stellar population formed in-situ and that of accreted stellar populations. Using as an observable the effective IMF $\alpha_{IMF}$, defined…
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…
Stars do not form continuously distributed over star forming galaxies. They form in star clusters of different masses. This nature of clustered star formation is taken into account in the theory of the integrated galactic stellar initial…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) describes the mass distribution of stars at the time of their formation and is of fundamental importance for many areas of astrophysics. The IMF is reasonably well constrained in the disk of the Milky…
During their evolution, star clusters undergo mass segregation, by which the orbits of the most massive stars shrink, while the lighter stars move outwards from the cluster centre. In this context, recent observations and dynamical…
The origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental issue in the theory of star formation. It is generally fit with a composite power law. Some clues on the progenitors can be found in dense starless cores that have a…
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…
One of the key observations regarding the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is its near-universality in the Milky Way (MW), which provides a powerful way to constrain different star formation models that predict the IMF. However, those…
Observations of the stellar initial mass function are reviewed. The flattening at low mass is evidence for a characteristic mass in star formation, which could be the minimum stellar mass for the onset of deuterium burning or the thermal…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is predicted to depend upon the temperature of gas in star-forming molecular clouds. The introduction of an additional parameter, $T_{IMF}$ , into photometric template fitting, suggest most galaxies…
[abridged] We aim to constrain the stellar initial mass function (IMF) during the epoch of reionization. To this purpose, we build up a semi-empirical model for the reionization history of the Universe, based on various ingredients: the…
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…
A method is presented here for investigating variations in the upper end of the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) by probing the production rate of ionizing photons in unresolved, compact star clusters with ages<10 Myr and covering a…
[abridged] Stars are thought to be formed predominantly in clusters. The clusters are formed following a cluster initial mass function (CMF) similar to the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Both the IMF and the CMF favour low-mass…