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Related papers: Stellar initial mass function in the 100-pc solar …

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The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is an essential input for many astrophysical studies but only in a few cases it has been determined over the whole cluster mass range, limiting the conclusions about its nature. The 25 Orionis group…

I use a sample of more than 120,000 stars in the solar neighbourhood with parallaxes, magnitudes and colours estimated with unprecedented accuracy by the second data release of the Gaia mission to derive the initial mass function of the…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-09-25 A. Sollima

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…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Gerry Gilmore

We explore the assumption, widely used in many astrophysical calculations, that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is universal across all galaxies. By considering both a canonical Salpeter-like IMF and a non-universal IMF, we are able…

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

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:…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-05-18 Nate Bastian , Kevin R. Covey , Michael R. Meyer

We explore the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of a sample of 49 massive quiescent galaxies (MQGs) at 0.9$<$z$<$1.5. We base our analysis on intermediate resolution spectro-photometric data in the GOODS-N field taken in the…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is expressed by $\phi(m) \propto m^{-\alpha}$ with the slope $\alpha$, and known as the poorly-constrained but very important function in studies of star and galaxy formation. There are no sensible…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-04-13 Shohei Aoyama , Masami Ouchi , Yuichi Harikane

The initial mass function (IMF) is a construct that describes the distribution of stellar masses for a newly formed population of stars. It is a fundamental element underlying all of star and galaxy formation, and has been the subject of…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-03-26 Diego Salvador , Andrew Hopkins , Matt Owers , Themiya Nanayakkara , Scott Croom

The solar neighbourhood is populated by nearby, young moving groups (NYMGs) of stars that are candidates to be remnants of individual stellar clusters and associations, currently dispersing in the galactic disc. To derive the initial mass…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a key parameter to study galaxy evolution. Here we measure the IMF mass normalization for a sample of 68 field galaxies in the redshift range 0.7 to 0.9 within the Extended Groth Strip. To do this…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2014-06-19 Shravan Shetty , Michele Cappellari

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

In this contributed talk I present recent results on the connection between stellar population properties and the normalisation of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) measured using stellar dynamics, based on a large sample of 260…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-23 Richard M. McDermid

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…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Ian A. Bonnell , Richard B. Larson , Hans Zinnecker

Much of our knowledge of galaxies comes from analysing the radiation emitted by their stars. It depends on the stellar initial mass function (IMF) describing the distribution of stellar masses when the population formed. Consequently…

A wealth of observations recently challenged the notion of a universal stellar initial mass function (IMF) by showing evidences in favour of a variability of this statistical indicator as a function of galaxy properties. I present…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-06-17 Fabio Fontanot

The initial mass function (IMF) is one of the most important functions in astrophysics because it is key to reconstructing the cosmological matter cycle, understanding the formation of super-massive black holes, and deciphering the light…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-12-30 Pavel Kroupa , Eda Gjergo , Tereza Jerabkova , Zhiqiang Yan

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…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-05 Charlie Conroy , Pieter van Dokkum

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

The complexity of constraining the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies cannot be overstated, given the necessity of both very high signal-to-noise (S/N) data and the difficulty of breaking the strong degeneracies that…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-10-27 Ilaria Lonoce , Anja Feldmeier-Krause , Wendy L. Freedman