The cosmic microwave background and the stellar initial mass function
View / Open Files
Authors
Jermyn, AS
Steinhardt, CL
Tout, CA
Publication Date
2018-08-06Journal Title
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
ISSN
0035-8711
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Volume
480
Issue
3
Pages
4265-4272
Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Jermyn, A., Steinhardt, C., & Tout, C. (2018). The cosmic microwave background and the stellar initial mass function. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 480 (3), 4265-4272. https://doi.org/10.1093/MNRAS/STY2123
Abstract
We argue that an increased temperature in star-forming clouds alters the stellar initial mass function to be more bottom-light than in the Milky Way. At redshifts z ≳ 6, heating from the cosmic microwave background radiation produces this effect in all galaxies, and it is also present at lower redshifts in galaxies with very high star formation rates (SFRs). A failure to account for it means that at present photometric template fitting likely overestimates stellar masses and SFRs for the highest redshift and highest SFR galaxies. In addition, this may resolve several outstanding problems in the chemical evolution of galactic haloes.
Keywords
galaxies: luminosity function, mass function, galaxies: star formation, galaxies: stellar content, cosmic background radiation, cosmological parameters
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/MNRAS/STY2123
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/287731
Rights
Licence:
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.
Recommended or similar items
The current recommendation prototype on the Apollo Repository will be turned off on 03 February 2023. Although the pilot has been fruitful for both parties, the service provider IKVA is focusing on horizon scanning products and so the recommender service can no longer be supported. We recognise the importance of recommender services in supporting research discovery and are evaluating offerings from other service providers. If you would like to offer feedback on this decision please contact us on: support@repository.cam.ac.uk