The Initial Mass Function for Early-Type Stars in Starburst Galaxies
Abstract
The IMF slope of early-type stars in starburst galaxies is investigated using IUE observations and a technique that utilizes mass-linewidth relations for early-type stars. Fourteen low-resolution IUE spectra of eight starburst galaxies and three H II region galaxies are used to obtain line-strength ratios Si IV (λ1400)/C IV (λ1550). These are compared to model line ratios, and indicate that the average IMF slope for OB stars in these intense star-formation regions is appreciably flatter than that of the solar neighborhood.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- September 1987
- DOI:
- 10.1086/114500
- Bibcode:
- 1987AJ.....94..644S
- Keywords:
-
- Early Stars;
- Spaceborne Astronomy;
- Starburst Galaxies;
- Stellar Mass;
- Astronomical Catalogs;
- Data Sampling;
- Hydrogen Clouds;
- Iue;
- Spectral Line Width;
- Astrophysics;
- RADIO SOURCES: GALAXIES;
- GALAXIES: SEYFERT