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| Paper: |
Applications of the IGIMF Theory to the Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| Volume: |
440, UP2010: Have Observations Revealed a Variable Upper End of the Initial Mass Function? |
| Page: |
269 |
| Authors: |
Pflamm-Altenburg, J.; Weidner, C.; Kroupa, P. |
| Abstract: |
The functional form of the galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function
is of fundamental importance for understanding galaxies.
So far this stellar initial mass function (IMF)
has been assumed to be identical to the
IMF observed directly in star clusters.
But because stars form predominantly
in embedded groups rather than uniformly distributed over the whole
galaxy, the galaxy-wide IMF needs to be calculated by adding all IMFs
of all embedded groups. This integrated galactic stellar initial mass
function (IGIMF) is steeper than the canonical IMF and
steepens with decreasing star formation rate (SFR), leading to fundamental new insights and
understanding of star forming properties of galaxies.
This contribution reviews the existing applications of the IGIMF theory to galactic astrophysics, while the parallel contribution by Weidner, Pflamm-Altenburg & Kroupa (this volume) introduces the IGIMF theory. |
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