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The Stellar Initial Mass Function in Starburst Galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

Claus Leitherer
Claus Leitherer*
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218

Abstract

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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.

Type
Starbursts
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 186: Galaxy Interactions at High and Low Redshift , 1999 , pp. 243 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1999 

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