The OB Associations of 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud. II. Stellar Content and Initial Mass Function
Abstract
From photometric and spectroscopic observations of the stars in 30 Doradus we determine the effective stellar temperatures and bolometric magnitudes. We construct the theoretical H-R diagram, and using stellar evolution models we then bin the stars by mass to obtain the initial mass function (IMF). The IMF shows marked curvature; it flattens out at lower masses, even for those masses above which the photometry is complete. Best estimates of the IMF slope yield values of {GAMMA} - 1.5 +/- 0.2 for M >~ 12M_sun_, where the Salpeter slope is {GAMMA} = - 1.35. However, there are indications that different regions of 30 Doradus have different IMF slopes, perhaps as the result of sequential star formation effects.
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 1993
- DOI:
- 10.1086/116740
- Bibcode:
- 1993AJ....106.1471P
- Keywords:
-
- Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram;
- Stellar Evolution;
- Stellar Magnitude;
- Stellar Mass;
- Stellar Temperature;
- Color-Color Diagram;
- Color-Magnitude Diagram;
- Magellanic Clouds;
- Star Distribution;
- Stellar Spectrophotometry;
- Astrophysics;
- MAGELLANIC CLOUDS;
- STARS: FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS;
- STARS: MASS FUNCTION