Comparison of assumed slopes of the IMF throughout this study (normalised for their integral within [0.9–50] M_⊙ to be unity). The input Chabrier IMF (piece-wise function) as used in our input simulations is well reproduced by a power-law IMF of slope α = −1.97 ± 0.24 (see text). Stars with < 0.9 M_⊙ are not expected to directly enrich their surroundings, and therefore IMFs are not considered below that mass limit.