Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-05-22
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
9 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A
Scientific paper
Context. We use Hubble Space Telescope photometry of six rich, compact star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with ages ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 Gyr, to derive the clusters' stellar mass functions (MFs) at their half-mass radii. Aims. The LMC is an ideal environment to study stellar MFs, because it contains a large population of compact clusters at different evolutionary stages. We aim to obtain constraints on the initial MFs (IMFs) of our sample clusters on the basis of their present-day MFs, combined with our understanding of their dynamical and photometric evolution. Methods. We derive the clusters' present-day MFs below 1.0 Msun using deep observations with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and updated stellar population synthesis models. Results. Since the relaxation timescales of low-mass stars are very long, dynamical evolution will not have affected the MFs below 1.0 Msun significantly, so that - within the uncertainties - the derived MFs are consistent with the solar-neighbourhood IMF, at least for the younger clusters. Conclusions. The IMF in the low-density, low-metallicity environment of the LMC disk is not significantly different from that in the solar neighbourhood.
Beaulieu Sylvie F.
de Grijs Richard
Deng Li Cai
Hu Yan
Liu Qiaohong
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