Related papers: A New Look at the Empirical Initial-Final Mass Rel…
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,…
Recent results have suggested that the well known mass-metallicity relation has a strong dependence on the star formation rate, to the extent that a three dimensional `fundamental metallicity relation' exists which links the three…
The purpose of this work is to present accurate and detailed mass-radius relations for white dwarf (WD) models with helium, carbon, oxygen, silicon and iron cores, by using a fully updated stellar evolutionary code. We considered masses…
Many open clusters have a deficit of observed white dwarfs (WDs) compared with predictions of the number of stars to have evolved into WDs. We evaluate the number of WDs produced in open clusters and the number of those WDS detectable using…
We study close approaches in hierarchical triple systems with comparable masses using full N-body simulations, motivated by a recent model for type Ia supernovae involving direct collisions of white dwarfs (WDs). For stable hierarchical…
The expected metal enrichment of the intra-cluster medium (ICM) and the partition of metals between cluster galaxies and the hot ICM depends on the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF). The choice of the IMF in simulations of clusters has…
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…
We present detailed theoretical mass-radius relations for massive white dwarf stars with oxygen-neon cores. This work is motivated by recent observational evidence about the existence of white dwarf stars with very high surface gravities.…
The initial mass function (IMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses in a population of newly born stars and is amongst the most fundamental concepts in astrophysics. It is not only the direct result of the star formation process…
Binary stars and higher-order multiple systems are an ubiquitous outcome of star formation, especially as the system mass increases. The companion mass-ratio distribution is a unique probe into the conditions of the collapsing cloud core…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is commonly interpreted to be a scale-invariant probability density distribution function (PDF) such that many small clusters yield the same IMF as one massive cluster of the same combined number of…
In this contribution we evaluate the minimal cluster mass for which the effects of an incomplete sampling of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) cannot be neglected. This minimal cluster mass corresponds to the situation in which the integrated…
Given a flurry of recent claims for systematic variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF), we carry out the first inventory of the observational evidence using different approaches. This includes literature results, as well as…
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…
Spectroscopic analyses of gravity-sensitive line strengths give growing evidence towards an excess of low-mass stars in massive early-type galaxies (ETGs). Such a scenario requires a bottom-heavy initial mass function (IMF). However, strong…
Star formation in the early Universe has left its imprint on the chemistry of observable stars in galaxies. We derive elemental abundances and the slope of the low-mass end of the initial mass function (IMF) for a sample of 25 very massive…
We examine the scatter of the relation between stellar mass and stellar metallicity for cluster dwarf galaxies in the cosmological simulation Illustris. The mass-metallicity relation exhibits the smallest intrinsic scatter at the galaxies'…
In the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm, the masses of the galaxy clusters inferred using background galaxies via weak-lensing shear should agree with the masses measured using the galaxy projected radius-velocity phase-space data via the escape…
We re-examine the evidence for the existence of ultra-massive (M > 1.1 M_sun) white dwarfs based on gravitational redshift of white dwarfs in common proper motion binaries or in clusters, on parallax measurements, on orbital solutions, and,…
In the star formation process, the vital impact of environmental factors such as feedback from massive stars and stellar density on the form of the initial mass function (IMF) at low-mass end is yet to be understood. Hence a systematic,…