Initial Mass Function

In a recent thread I mentioned that the distribution
of the masses of stars was called the Mass Function and,
in particular, the Mass Functions at the birth of stars
was called the Initial Mass Function ( IMF ).

So, for no other reason than I had this fresh in my
mind, here is the abstract from a recent paper on IMF.
Note that the conclusion, that the early MW IMF was
shifted to higher masses, lends credence to the idea
that the early galaxy was "polluted" by massive
population III stars.

==========
astro-ph/0412423 :

Title: Observational evidence for a different IMF in the early Galaxy
Authors: Sara Lucatello (1,2), Raffaele G. Gratton (1), Timothy C. Beers (3),
Eugenio Carretta (1,4)
(1- INAF OAPD; 2- Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita' di Padova; 3- MSU;
4- INAF OABO)
Comments: 14 pages, 1 color figure, accepted for publication on ApJ

The unexpected high incidence of carbon-enhanced, s-process enriched
unevolved stars amongst extremely metal-poor stars in the halo provides
a significant constraint on the Initial Mass Function (IMF) in the
early Galaxy. We argue that these objects are evidence for the past
existence of a large population of intermediate-mass stars, and conclude
that the IMF in the early Galaxy was different from the present, and
shifted toward higher masses.
===========

Dark skies,

tom

--
We have discovered a therapy ( NOT a cure )
for the common cold. Play tuba for an hour.