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On the problem of secular variability in the stellar initial mass function
Author(s) -
Meusinger H.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.2113080310
Subject(s) - initial mass function , physics , stars , astrophysics , galaxy , star formation , luminosity function , stellar mass , secular variation , function (biology) , luminosity , astronomy , evolutionary biology , biology
The hypothesis of secular variations in the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is studied. It is found that neither the present‐day mass function of the nearby main sequence field stars nor the velocity distribution of these stars are contradictory with this hypothesis. The luminosity functions of unbiased kinematically defined age‐groups of the nearby stars also provide no strong constraints. Simple evolution models with time‐dependent IMF and star formation rate enable to fit the data of blue irregular galaxies. Some problems with an universal IMF are pointed out.