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Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the star formation rate dependence of the stellar initial mass function

Gunawardhana, M. L. P. ; Hopkins, A. M. ; Sharp, R. G. ; Brough, S. ; Taylor, E. ; Bland-Hawthorn, J. ; Maraston, C. ; Tuffs, R. J. ; Popescu, C. C. ; Wijesinghe, D. ; Jones, D. H. ; Croom, S. ; Sadler, E. ; Wilkins, S. ; Driver, S. P. ; Liske, J. ; Norberg, P. ; Baldry, I. K. ; Bamford, S. P. ; Loveday, J. ; Peacock, J. A. ; Robotham, A. S. G. ; Zucker, D. B. ; Parker, Q. A. ; Conselice, C. J. ; Cameron, E. ; Frenk, C. S. ; Hill, D. T. ; Kelvin, L. S. ; Kuijken, K. ; Madore, B. F. ; Nichol, B. ; Parkinson, H. R. ; Pimbblet, K. A. ; Prescott, M. ; Sutherland, W. J. ; Thomas, D. ; van Kampen, E.

In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2011, vol. 415, no. 2, p. 1647-1662

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    Titre
    • Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the star formation rate dependence of the stellar initial mass function
    Auteur
    • Gunawardhana, M. L. P.. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
    • Hopkins, A. M.. Australian Astronomical Observatory, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
    • Sharp, R. G.. Australian Astronomical Observatory, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
    • Brough, S.. Australian Astronomical Observatory, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
    • Taylor, E.. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    • Bland-Hawthorn, J.. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    • Maraston, C.. Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG), University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3FX
    • Tuffs, R. J.. Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
    • Popescu, C. C.. Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE
    • Wijesinghe, D.. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    • Jones, D. H.. Australian Astronomical Observatory, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
    • Croom, S.. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    • Sadler, E.. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    • Wilkins, S.. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH
    • Driver, S. P.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS
    • Liske, J.. European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
    • Norberg, P.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ
    • Baldry, I. K.. Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Egerton Wharf, Birkenhead CH41 1LD
    • Bamford, S. P.. Centre for Astronomy and Particle Theory, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
    • Loveday, J.. Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH
    • Peacock, J. A.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ
    • Robotham, A. S. G.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS
    • Zucker, D. B.. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
    • Parker, Q. A.. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
    • Conselice, C. J.. Centre for Astronomy and Particle Theory, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD
    • Cameron, E.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS
    • Frenk, C. S.. Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE
    • Hill, D. T.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS
    • Kelvin, L. S.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS
    • Kuijken, K.. Leiden University, PO Box 9500, NL-2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
    • Madore, B. F.. Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, CA 91101, USA
    • Nichol, B.. Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
    • Parkinson, H. R.. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ
    • Pimbblet, K. A.. School of Physics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
    • Prescott, M.. Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Egerton Wharf, Birkenhead CH41 1LD
    • Sutherland, W. J.. Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary University London, Mile End Rd, London E14NS
    • Thomas, D.. Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
    • van Kampen, E.. European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2011, vol. 415, no. 2, p. 1647-1662. Blackwell Publishing Ltd
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:295076
    Summary
    The stellar initial mass function (IMF) describes the distribution in stellar masses produced from a burst of star formation. For more than 50 yr, the implicit assumption underpinning most areas of research involving the IMF has been that it is universal, regardless of time and environment. We measure the high-mass IMF slope for a sample of low-to-moderate redshift galaxies from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey. The large range in luminosities and galaxy masses of the sample permits the exploration of underlying IMF dependencies. A strong IMF-star formation rate dependency is discovered, which shows that highly star-forming galaxies form proportionally more massive stars (they have IMFs with flatter power-law slopes) than galaxies with low star formation rates. This has a significant impact on a wide variety of galaxy evolution studies, all of which rely on assumptions about the slope of the IMF. Our result is supported by, and provides an explanation for, the results of numerous recent explorations suggesting a variation of or evolution in the IMF