Related papers: On some Uncertainties in Evolutionary Synthesis Mo…
In this review we address the uncertainties implicit in evolutionary synthesis model computations. After describing the general structure of synthesis codes, we discuss several source of uncertainties that may affect their results. In…
Evolutionary synthesis models have been used to study the physical properties of unresolved populations in a wide range of scenarios. Unfortunately, their self-consistency are difficult to test and there are some theoretical open questions…
The stellar masses, mean ages, metallicities, and star formation histories of galaxies are now commonly estimated via stellar population synthesis (SPS) techniques. SPS relies on stellar evolution calculations from the main sequence to…
Models for the formation and evolution of galaxies readily predict physical properties such as the star formation rates, metal enrichment histories, and, increasingly, gas and dust content of synthetic galaxies. Such predictions are…
The probabilistic nature of the IMF in stellar systems implies that clusters of the same mass and age do not present the same unique values of their observed parameters. Instead they follow a distribution. We address the study of such…
Evolutionary synthesis models are a fundamental tool to interpret the properties of observed stellar systems. In order to achieve a meaningful comparison between models and real data, it is necessary to calibrate the models themselves, i.e.…
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,…
The basic assumptions behind Population Synthesis and Spectral Evolution models are reviewed. The numerical problems encountered by the standard population synthesis technique when applied to models with truncated star formation rates are…
During this last decade our knowledge of the evolutionary properties of stars has significantly improved. This result has been achieved thanks to our improved understanding of the physical behavior of stellar matter in the thermal regimes…
When estimating the abundances which result from a given star formation event, it is customary to treat the IMF as a series of weight factors to be applied to the stellar yields, as a function of mass, implicitly assuming one is dealing…
The initial mass function (IMF) succinctly characterizes a stellar population, provides a statistical measure of the end result of the star-formation process, and informs our under- standing of the structure and dynamical evolution of…
The stochastic nature of the IMF in young stellar clusters implies that clusters of the same mass and age do not present the same unique values of their observed parameters. Instead they follow a distribution. We address the study of such…
When evolutionary synthesis models take into account the stochastic nature of the IMF together with the discrete number of stars in real stellar clusters, typical output turns to dispersion band (where real data can be placed) instead of…
The combination of a finite time-scale for star formation, rapid early stellar evolution and rapid stellar-dynamical processes imply that the stellar IMF cannot be inferred for any star cluster independently of its age (the Cluster IMF…
A survey of results concerning the IMF derived from star counts is presented, including work up to, but not including, that presented in these proceedings. The situation regarding low-mass stars in the field and in clusters, high-mass stars…
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…
In most star formation history (SFH) measurements, the reported uncertainties are those due to effects whose sizes can be readily measured: Poisson noise, adopted distance and extinction, and binning choices in the solution itself. However,…
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:…
Recent observational evidence for initial mass function (IMF) variations in massive quiescent galaxies at $z = 0$ challenges the long-established paradigm of a universal IMF. While a few theoretical models relate the IMF to birth cloud…
Low mass star formation regions are unlikely to fully populate their initial mass functions, leading to a deficit of massive stars. In binary stellar populations, the full range of binary separations and mass ratios will also be…