Related papers: Numerical biases on IMF determinations created by …

I discuss two of the possible sources of biases in the determination of the IMF: binning and the existence of unresolved components. The first source is important for clusters with a small number of stars detected in a given mass bin while…

We discuss possible sources of biases in the determination of the initial mass function (IMF) introduced by the binning of the data, the uncertainty in the determinations of masses, and the existence of unresolved multiple systems. Those…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) high-mass slope $\alpha$ is routinely measured by fitting single-star models to photometric samples that contain 20-90% unresolved binaries. This practice introduces a systematic negative bias on…

When calculating IMFs for young clusters, one has to take into account that (a) most massive stars are born in multiple systems (b) most IMFs are derived from data that cannot resolve such systems, and (c) multiple chance superpositions…

When reading peer-reviewed scientific literature describing any analysis of empirical data, it is natural and correct to proceed with the underlying assumption that experiments have made good faith efforts to ensure that their analyses…

(shortened) In this contribution an average or Galactic-field IMF is defined, stressing that there is evidence for a change in the power-law index at only two masses: near 0.5 Msun and 0.08 Msun. Using this supposed universal IMF, the…

The stellar IMF has been found to be an invariant Salpeter power-law (alpha=2.35) above about 1 Msun, but at the same time a massive star typically has more than one companion. This constrains the possible formation scenarios of massive…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) determines the relative number of stars born at a given mass. Despite the tremendous effort to establish a universal IMF, the astronomical literature offers a wealth of diverse evidence for IMF…

Motivated by applications in instance selection, we introduce the star discrepancy subset selection problem, which consists of finding a subset of m out of n points that minimizes the star discrepancy. First, we show that this problem is…

(abridged) The stellar initial mass function (IMF) can be conveniently represented as a canonical two-part power law function and is largely invariant for star formation regions evident in the Local Group of galaxies. The IMF is a…

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…

If we accept a paradigm that star formation is a self-similar, hierarchical process, then the Salpeter slope of the IMF for high-mass stars can be simply and elegantly explained as follows. If the instrinsic IMF at the smallest scales…

We suggest that the intrinsic, stellar initial mass function (IMF) follows a power-law slope gamma=2, inherited from hierarchical fragmentation of molecular clouds into clumps and clumps into stars. The well-known, logarithmic Salpeter…

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) in star clusters is reviewed. Uncertainties in the observations are emphasized. We suggest there is a distinct possibility that cluster IMFs vary systematically with density or pressure. Dense…

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:…

The frequency and properties of multiple star systems offer powerful tests of star formation models. Multiplicity surveys over the past decade have shown that binary properties vary strongly with mass, but the functional forms and the…

The study of young stellar populations has revealed that most stars are in binary or higher order multiple systems. In this study the influence on the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of large quantities of unresolved multiple massive…

We attempt to evaluate whether the integrated galactic IMF (IGIMF) is expected to be steeper than the IMF within individual clusters through direct evaluation of whether there is a systematic dependence of maximum stellar mass on cluster…

We constrain the properties of massive binaries by comparing radial velocity data of Cygnus OB2 with Monte Carlo models. Our comparisons test several popular prescriptions for massive binary parameters. We explore a range of true binary…

In a probabilistic framework of the interpretation of the initial mass function (IMF), the IMF cannot be arbitrarily normalized to the total mass, M, or number of stars, N, of the system. Hence, the inference of M and N when partial…