English
Related papers

Related papers: Constraining the top-light initial mass function i…

200 papers

We explore the possibility of using UV spectroscopy in combination with broad-band photometry as diagnostic tools for understanding the shape of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) in unresolved stellar populations. Building on our previous…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2018-08-08 Greg Ashworth , Michele Fumagalli , Angela Adamo , Mark R. Krumholz

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental property in the measurement of stellar masses and galaxy star formation histories. In this work we focus on the most massive galaxies in the nearby universe…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-06-29 Meng Gu , Jenny Greene , Andrew B. Newman , Christina Kreisch , Matthew Quenneville , Chung-Pei Ma , John P. Blakeslee

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

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

The stellar initial mass function (IMF), which is often assumed to be universal across unresolved stellar populations, has recently been suggested to be "bottom-heavy" for massive ellipticals. In these galaxies, the prevalence of…

It has been shown recently that the dynamical V-band mass-to-light ratios of compact stellar systems with masses from 10^6 to 10^8 Solar masses are not consistent with the predictions from simple stellar population (SSP) models. Top-heavy…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2010-02-25 J. Dabringhausen , P. Kroupa , H. Baumgardt

We have undertaken the largest systematic study of the high-mass stellar initial mass function (IMF) to date using the optical color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of 85 resolved, young (4 Myr < t < 25 Myr), intermediate mass star clusters…

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

Recent results indicate the stellar initial mass function is not a strong function of star-forming environment or ``initial conditions'' (e.g. Meyer et al. 2000). Some studies suggest that a universal IMF may extend to sub-stellar masses…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-11-11 M. R. Meyer , J. Greissl , M. Kenworthy , D. McCarthy

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental property of star formation, offering key insight into the physics driving the process as well as informing our understanding of stellar populations, their by-products, and their…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-03-14 M. W. Hosek , J. R. Lu , M. Andersen , T. Do , D. Kim , N. Z. Rui , P. Boyle , B. F. Williams , S. Chakrabarti , R. L. Beaton

It is now well-established that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) can be determined from the absorption line spectra of old stellar systems, and this has been used to measure the IMF and its variation across the early-type galaxy…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2017-03-22 Charlie Conroy , Pieter van Dokkum , Alexa Villaume

Theoretical arguments and indirect observational evidence suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) may evolve with time, such that it is more weighted toward high mass stars at higher redshift. Here we test this idea by…

Astrophysics · Physics 2010-01-07 Pieter van Dokkum

We present constraints on the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in two ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies, Hercules and Leo IV, based on deep HST/ACS imaging. The Hercules and Leo IV galaxies are extremely low luminosity (M_V = -6.2, -5.5),…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-15 M. Geha , T. M. Brown , J. Tumlinson , J. Kalirai , J. D. Simon , E. Kirby , D. VandenBerg , R. M. Munoz , R. Avila , P. Guhathakurta , H. Ferguson

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

Although the stellar initial mass function (IMF) has only been directly determined in star clusters it has been manifoldly applied on galaxy-wide scales. But taking the clustered nature of star formation into account the galaxy-wide IMF is…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2009-11-13 J. Pflamm-Altenburg , C. Weidner , P. Kroupa

We summarize recent observational and theoretical progress aimed at understanding the origin of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) with specific focus on galactic star-forming regions. We synthesize data from various efforts to…

Research on the high-mass end of the initial mass function (IMF) has been limited due to a scarcity of samples. Recently, Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST), as the most efficient spectroscopic telescope, has…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-05-21 Qida Li , Jianping Xiong , Zhenwei Li , Dan Qiu , Chao Liu , Zhanwen Han , Xuefei Chen

The dependence of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) on star-formation environment, particularly at low metallicities and high redshifts, remains poorly constrained. Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs) are local fossils of high-redshift…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) plays a crucial role in determining the number of surviving stars in galaxies, the chemical composition of the interstellar medium, and the distribution of light in galaxies. A key unsolved question…

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