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arXiv 2301.07029astro-ph.GAastro-ph.EPastro-ph.SR
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恒星初始质量函数随金属丰度和时间的变化

Stellar Initial Mass Function Varies with Metallicities and Time

Jiadong Li, Chao Liu, Zhi-Yu Zhang, Hao Tian, Xiaoting Fu, Jiao Li, Zhi-Qiang Yan

摘要:

星系的大多数结构和演化性质强烈依赖于恒星初始质量函数(IMF),即在每一个恒星形成事件中形成的恒星质量分布。由于IMF塑造了所有恒星系统中的恒星星族,它成为现代天文学最基本的概念之一。尽管进行了大量的理论和观测工作,但在不同环境下的恒定和可变IMF都已被提出。然而,银河系恒星星族的IMF测量一直受到光度观测恒星数量相对较少的限制,导致高不确定性。在这里,我们报告了一个恒星计数结果的基础上,~93,000光谱观察到的M-矮星,一个数量级比以前的研究,在100- 300秒差距(pc)的太阳附近。我们发现明确的证据表明,一个变量IMF的金属丰度和恒星年龄的依赖。具体来说,早期形成的恒星星族包含的低质量恒星比标准IMF少,与恒星金属丰度无关。另一方面,在今天,低质量恒星的比例随着恒星金属丰度的增加而增加。我们银河系中低质量恒星的可变丰度为恒星形成模型建立了一个强有力的基准,并且可以严重影响银河系化学富集模型,星系质量估计和行星形成效率的结果。

英文摘要:

Most structural and evolutionary properties of galaxies strongly rely on the stellar initial mass function (IMF), namely the distribution of the stellar mass formed in each episode of star formation. As the IMF shapes the stellar population in all stellar systems, it turns out to become one of the most fundamental concepts of modern astronomy. Both constant and variable IMFs across different environments have been claimed despite a large number of theoretical and observational efforts. However, the measurement of the IMF in Galactic stellar populations has been limited by the relatively small number of photometrically observed stars, leading to high uncertainties. Here we report a star-counting result based on ~93,000 spectroscopically observed M-dwarf stars, an order of magnitude more than previous studies, in the 100--300 parsec (pc) Solar neighbourhood. We find unambiguous evidence of a variable IMF that depends on both metallicity and stellar age. Specifically, the stellar population formed at the early time contains fewer low-mass stars compared to the canonical IMF, independent of stellar metallicities. In present days, on the other hand, the proportion of low-mass stars increases with stellar metallicity. The variable abundance of low-mass stars in our Milky Way establishes a powerful benchmark for models of star formation and can heavily impact results in Galactic chemical enrichment modelling, mass estimation of galaxies, and planet formation efficiency.

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