http://arxiv.org/abs/1711.07487
We investigate how a single generation galactic mass function (SGMF) depends on the existence of variations in the initial stellar mass functions (IMF) of stellar clusters. We show that cluster-to-cluster variations of the IMF lead to a multicomponent SGMF where each component in a given mass range can be described by a distinct power-law function. We also show that a dispersion of $\approx 0.3$ M$_{\odot}$ in the characteristic mass of the IMF, as observed for young Galactic clusters, leads to a low mass slope of the SGMF that matches the observed Galactic stellar mass function even when the IMFs in the low mass end of individual clusters are much steeper.
S. Dib and S. Basu
Wed, 22 Nov 17
36/67
Comments: submitted to MNRAS Letters. Comments are welcome