Related papers: Limited imprint of high-mass IMF variations on sod…
Most structural and evolutionary properties of galaxies strongly rely on the stellar initial mass function (IMF), namely the distribution of the stellar mass formed in each episode of star formation. As the IMF shapes the stellar population…
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…
Recent results on the non-universality of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) have shown strong evidence of IMF variations with galaxy velocity dispersion, with a corresponding impact on other stellar population parameters, line indices and…
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…
We perform a direct comparison of two state-of-the art single stellar population (SSP) models that have been used to demonstrate the non-universality of the low-mass end of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) slope. The two public versions of…
There is mounting evidence that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) could extend much beyond the canonical Mi ~100, Msun limit, but the impact of such hypothesis on the chemical enrichment of galaxies still remains to be clarified. We…
Recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have found evidence for an invariant relation between stellar mass, metallicity, and star formation rate up to $z\sim 8$ and its breakdown at higher redshifts. Understanding the…
In this work we explore the effects of adopting an initial mass function (IMF) variable in time on the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. In order to do that we adopt a chemical evolution model which assumes two main infall episodes for the…
Dust is important for star formation because it is the crucial component that couples gas to stellar radiation fields, allowing radiation feedback to influence gas fragmentation and thus the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Variations…
The recently inferred variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) among local high-mass early-type galaxies may require a reinterpretation of observations of galaxy populations and may have important consequences for the…
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:…
Observations with JWST have revealed an unexpected high abundance of bright z>10 galaxy candidates. We explore whether a stellar initial mass function (IMF) that becomes increasingly top-heavy towards higher redshifts and lower gas-phase…
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…
From time to time, and quite more frequently in recent years, claims appear favoring a variable Initial Mass Function (IMF), one way or another, either in time or space. In this chapter we add our two pennies of wisdom, illustrating how the…
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…
Analyses of strong gravitational lenses, galaxy-scale kinematics, and absorption line stellar population synthesis (SPS) have all concluded that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) varies within the massive early-type galaxy (ETG)…
Several independent lines of evidence suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in early-type galaxies becomes increasingly `bottom-heavy' with increasing galaxy mass and/or velocity dispersion, sigma. Here we consider evidence…
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…
The presented study gives a comprehensive overview of the theory and the evidence for a systematically varying stellar initial mass function (IMF). Then we focus on the impact of this paradigm change, that is, from the universal invariant…
Deviations from a universal, MW-like, Stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) have been reported for distant galaxies, although the physical reason behind the observed variations is still matter of ongoing debate. In this paper, we present an…