The initial mass function for massive stars

1982 ◽  
Vol 263 ◽  
pp. 777 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Garmany ◽  
P. S. Conti ◽  
C. Chiosi
Keyword(s):  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass

scholarly journals The Stellar Initial Mass Function in Starburst Galaxies

1999 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 243-250
Author(s):  
Claus Leitherer
Keyword(s):  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Starburst Galaxies ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
H Ii Regions ◽  
Environmental Properties ◽  
Stellar Initial Mass Function ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Star Formation Histories

Starburst galaxies are currently forming massive stars at prodigious rates. I discuss the star-formation histories and the shape of the initial mass function, with particular emphasis on the high- and on the low-mass end. The classical Salpeter IMF is consistent with constraints from observations of the most massive stars, irrespective of environmental properties. The situation at the low-mass end is less clear: direct star counts in nearby giant H II regions show stars down to ~1 M⊙, whereas dynamical arguments in some starburst galaxies suggest a deficit of such stars.

scholarly journals Supernova Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars

1996 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 157-164
Author(s):  
M. Hashimoto ◽  
K. Nomoto ◽  
T. Tsujimoto ◽  
F.-K. Thielemann
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Explosion Energy ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Explosive Nucleosynthesis ◽  
Solar Abundances

Presupernova evolution and explosive nucleosynthesis in massive stars for main-sequence masses from 13 Mʘ to 70 Mʘ are calculated. We examine the dependence of the supernova yields on the stellar mass, 12C(α, γ)16O rate, and explosion energy. The supernova yields integrated over the initial mass function are compared with the solar abundances.

scholarly journals Transition of the initial mass function in the metal-poor environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunmyon Chon ◽  
Kazuyuki Omukai ◽  
Raffaella Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Mass Distribution ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Low Mass Stars ◽  
Filamentary Structure ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Cloud Core

Abstract We study star cluster formation in a low-metallicity environment using three dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Starting from a turbulent cloud core, we follow the formation and growth of protostellar systems with different metallicities ranging from 10−6 to 0.1 Z⊙. The cooling induced by dust grains promotes fragmentation at small scales and the formation of low-mass stars with M* ∼ 0.01–0.1 M⊙ While the number of low-mass stars increases with metallicity, when Z/Z⊙ ≳ 10−5. the stellar mass distribution is still top-heavy for Z/Z⊙ ≲ 10−2 compared to the Chabrier initial mass function (IMF). In these cases, star formation begins after the turbulent motion decays and a single massive cloud core monolithically collapses to form a central massive stellar system. The circumstellar disk preferentially feeds the mass to the central massive stars, making the mass distribution top-heavy. When Z/Z⊙ = 0.1, collisions of the turbulent flows promote the onset of the star formation and a highly filamentary structure develops owing to efficient fine-structure line cooling. In this case, the mass supply to the massive stars is limited by the local gas reservoir and the mass is shared among the stars, leading to a Chabrier-like IMF. We conclude that cooling at the scales of the turbulent motion promotes the development of the filamentary structure and works as an important factor leading to the present-day IMF.

scholarly journals On the Bulk Yields of Nucleosynthesis from Massive Stars

1977 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 161-164
Author(s):  
W. David Arnett
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Iron Group ◽  
Helium Stars ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Imf

Preliminary estimates are made of the absolute yields of abundant nuclei synthesized in observed stars. The compositions of helium stars of mass 3 ≤ Mα / Mʘ≤ 64 are presented, taken at the instant of instability. These stars of mass Mα are identified with stars of main sequence mass M. The amount of synthesized matter for each mass M ≥ MʘHe is estimated (Table 1). Using a variety of choices for the initial mass function (IMF) the yield per stellar generation is calculated. For standard choices of the IMF the absolute and relative yields of12C,16O,20Ne,24Mg, the Si to Ca group and the iron group agree with solar system values, to the accuracy of the calculations.

scholarly journals Some processes influencing the stellar initial mass function

1991 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 261-273
Author(s):  
Richard B. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrum ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Solar Mass ◽  
Stellar Initial Mass Function

Current evidence suggests that the stellar initial mass function has the same basic form everywhere, and that its fundamental features are (1) the existence of a characteristic stellar mass of order one solar mass, and (2) the existence of an apparently universal power-law form for the mass spectrum of the more massive stars. The characteristic stellar mass may be determined in part by the typical mass scale for the fragmentation of star forming clouds, which is predicted to be of the order of one solar mass. The power-law extension of the mass spectrum toward higher masses may result from the continuing accretional growth of some stars to much larger masses; the fact that the most massive stars appear to form preferentially in cluster cores suggests that such continuing accretion may be particularly important at the centers of clusters. Numerical simulations suggest that forming systems of stars may tend to develop a hierarchical structure, possibly self-similar in nature. If most stars form in such hierarchically structured systems, and if the mass of the most massive star that forms in each subcluster increases as a power of the mass of the subcluster, then a mass spectrum of power-law form is predicted. Some possible physical effects that could lead to such a relation are briefly discussed, and some observational tests of the ideas discussed here are proposed.

scholarly journals Effects of a stochastic initial mass function on the upper main sequence band

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 293-296
Author(s):  
C. Chiosi ◽  
L. Greggio
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Effective Temperature ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Initial Mass ◽  
Sequence Band ◽  
High Mass Loss

The theoretical (Mb versus Log Te) HR diagram for the brightest galactic OB stars shows an upper boundary for the luminosity, which is characterized by a decreasing luminosity with decreasing effective temperature (Humphreys and Davidson, 1979). The existence of this limit was interpreted by Chiosi et al. (1978) as due to the effect of mass loss by stellar wind on the evolution of most massive stars in core H-burning phase. In fact, evolutionary models calculated at constant mass cover a wider and wider range in effective temperature as the initial mass increases during the main sequence phase. On the contrary, sufficiently high mass-loss rates make the evolutionary sequences of most massive stars (M 60⩾Mʘ) shrink toward the zero age main sequence whenever, due to mass loss, CNO processed material is brought to the surface (Chiosi et al., 1978; de Loore et al., 1978; Maeder, 1980).

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