Evidence for a Nonuniform Initial Mass Function in the Local Universe

Meurer, Gerhardt; Wong, O. I.; Kim, J. H.; Hanish, D J; Heckman, T M; Werk, J; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Dopita, Michael; Zwaan, M A; Koribalski, Baerbel S; Seibert, M; Thilker, D. A.

Evidence for a Nonuniform Initial Mass Function in the Local Universe

Date

2009

Authors

Meurer, Gerhardt

Wong, O. I.

Kim, J. H.

Hanish, D J

Heckman, T M

Werk, J

Bland-Hawthorn, Joss

Dopita, Michael

Zwaan, M A

Koribalski, Baerbel S

Publisher

IOP Publishing

Abstract

Many of the results in modern astrophysics rest on the notion that the initial mass function (IMF) is universal. Our observations of a sample of H i selected galaxies in the light of Hα and the far-ultraviolet (FUV) challenge this result. The extinction-