Related papers: The Initial Mass Function: Now and Then
It is believed that the majority of stars form in clusters. Therefore it is likely that the gas physical conditions that prevail in forming clusters, largely determine the properties of stars that form and in particular the initial mass…
As most if not all stars are born in stellar clusters the shape of the mass function of the field stars is not only determined by the initial mass function of stars (IMF) but also by the cluster mass function (CMF). In order to quantify…
Star formation models predict that the metal-poor initial mass function (IMF) can be substantially different from that observed in the metal-rich Milky Way. This changeover occurs because metal-poor gas clouds cool inefficiently due to…
Using deep HST/ACS observations, we demonstrate that the sub-solar stellar initial mass function (IMF) of 6 ultra-faint dwarf Milky Way Satellites (UFDs) is more bottom light than the IMF of the Milky Way disk. Our data have a lower mass…
Recent results suggest that the initial mass function (IMF) of globular clusters (GCs) is metallicity and density dependent. Here it is studied how this variation affects the initial masses and the numbers of core collapse supernovae…
[abridged] Stars are thought to be formed predominantly in clusters. The clusters are formed following a cluster initial mass function (CMF) similar to the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Both the IMF and the CMF favour low-mass…
There are various ways of measuring the slope of the upper end of the IMF. Arguably the most direct of these is to place stars on the H-R diagram and compare their positions with stellar evolutionary models. Even so, the masses one infers…
We present a method for investigating variations in the upper end of the stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) by probing the production rate of ionizing photons in unresolved, compact star clusters with ages <~10 Myr and with different…
The recent finding that the IGIMF (integrated galaxial initial stellar mass function) composed of all newly formed stars in all young star clusters has, in dependence of the SFR, a steeper slope in the high mass regime than the underlying…
Accurate specification of a likelihood function is becoming increasingly difficult in many inference problems in astronomy. As sample sizes resulting from astronomical surveys continue to grow, deficiencies in the likelihood function lead…
Our recent determination of a Salpeter slope for the IMF in the field of 30 Doradus (Selman and Melnick 2005) appears to be in conflict with simple probabilistic counting arguments advanced in the past to support observational claims of a…
Fifty years after Ed Salpeter's seminal paper, tremendous progress both on the observational and theoretical sides allow a fairly accurate determination of the Galactic IMF not only down to the hydrogen-burning limit but into the brown…
The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way plays host to a massive, young cluster that may have formed in one of the most inhospitable environments in the Galaxy. We present new measurements of the global properties of this…
The Initial Mass Function (IMF) of early-type galaxies (ETGs) has been found to feature systematic variations by both dynamical and spectroscopic studies. In particular, spectral line strengths, based on gravity-sensitive features, suggest…
Observations of mergers of multi-compact object systems offer insights to the formation processes of massive stars in globular clusters. Simulations of stellar clusters, may be used to understand and interpret observations. Simulations…
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies is the combination of the IMF of the stellar population formed in-situ and that of accreted stellar populations. Using as an observable the effective IMF $\alpha_{IMF}$, defined…
(Abridged) Accurate luminosity functions (LF) for a dozen globular clusters have now been measured at or just beyond their half-light radius using HST. They span almost the entire cluster main sequence below ~ 0.75 Msolar. All these…
We present a simple statistical analysis of recent numerical simulations exploring the correlation between the core mass function obtained from the fragmentation of a molecular cloud and the stellar mass function which forms from these…
We use numerical simulations of the fragmentation of a 1000 solar mass molecular cloud and the formation of a stellar cluster to study how the initial conditions for star formation affect the resulting initial mass function (IMF). In…
We investigate the most plausible stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) and the main origin of the tilt of the Fundamental Plane (FP) for old, massive early-type galaxies. We consider a sample of 13 bright galaxies of the Coma cluster and…