INVESTIGATING EVIDENCE OF HIGH-MASS VARIATIONS OF THE STELLAR INITIAL MASS FUNCTION

ended

One of the most important questions in the study of galaxy evolution is the assumption that stars formed within star clusters with a preferred mass distribution (IMF) independent of time and environment. Major advances in understanding mainly the low-mass IMF variations have been made in the past decade, however, relatively a little attention has been paid to the high-mass IMF. As such some critical questions remain: Does the high-mass IMF vary as a function of time and environment? Is it appropriate to describe the high-mass IMF with a single power-law as we do now? The multi-wavelength datasets that are becoming available now can address these questions. My proposal will tackle this fundamental and long-standing issue to the limit of our current observing and theoretical capabilities. Spatial multi-wavelength data from the latest generation of surveys combined with up-to-date modeling tools and state-of-the-art hydrodynamical experiments will be used to shed light into potential variations of the IMF and their effects on galaxy evolution. The goals of the proposal are: 1. Investigate the spatial distribution and connection between star formation events within galaxies; 2. Identify reliable multi-wavelength high-mass IMF diagnostics; 3. Investigate the effects of IMF variations in moderating galaxy evolution using simulations. The proposed project is both high-impact and timely. The high quality data products need for this project are now available thanks to the latest sky surveys (e.g. GAMA) and multi-wavelength experiments (e.g. ESA's flagship mission Herschel). The timely implementation of the project will constitute to one of the most complete studies of the high-mass IMF variations over an unparalleled wavelength span using statistically significant samples. My expertise in data analysis and modeling combined with the world-leading expertise of my host, Leiden Observatory, in the same field provides exactly the right background to carry out this project.