Issue |
A&A
Volume 607, November 2017
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A126 | |
Number of page(s) | 15 | |
Section | Galactic structure, stellar clusters and populations | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201730987 | |
Published online | 24 November 2017 |
The optimally sampled galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function
Observational tests and the publicly available GalIMF code⋆
1 Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
e-mail: 1832332677@qq.com
2 Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik (HISKP), Universität Bonn, Nussallee 14–16, 53115 Bonn, Germany
e-mail: pavel@astro.uni-bonn.de
3 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Astronomical Institute, V Holešovičkách 2, 180 00 Praha 8, Czech Republic
e-mail: tereza@sirrah.troja.mff.cuni.cz
Received: 13 April 2017
Accepted: 12 July 2017
Here we present a full description of the integrated galaxy-wide initial mass function (IGIMF) theory in terms of the optimal sampling and compare it with available observations. Optimal sampling is the method we use to discretize the IMF deterministically into stellar masses. Evidence indicates that nature may be closer to deterministic sampling as observations suggest a smaller scatter of various relevant observables than random sampling would give, which may result from a high level of self-regulation during the star formation process. We document the variation of IGIMFs under various assumptions. The results of the IGIMF theory are consistent with the empirical relation between the total mass of a star cluster and the mass of its most massive star, and the empirical relation between the star formation rate (SFR) of a galaxy and the mass of its most massive cluster. Particularly, we note a natural agreement with the empirical relation between the IMF power-law index and the SFR of a galaxy. The IGIMF also results in a relation between the SFR of a galaxy and the mass of its most massive star such that, if there were no binaries, galaxies with SFR < 10-4M⊙/yr should host no Type II supernova events. In addition, a specific list of initial stellar masses can be useful in numerical simulations of stellar systems. For the first time, we show optimally sampled galaxy-wide IMFs (OSGIMF) that mimic the IGIMF with an additional serrated feature. Finally, a Python module, GalIMF, is provided allowing the calculation of the IGIMF and OSGIMF dependent on the galaxy-wide SFR and metallicity.
Key words: galaxies: stellar content / galaxies: luminosity function, mass function / galaxies: star formation / galaxies: formation / galaxies: star clusters: general / galaxies: evolution
A copy of the python code model is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/607/A126
© ESO, 2017
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