Chemodynamical simulations with variable IMF

TL;DR

This paper uses chemodynamical simulations to explore how varying the initial mass function affects cosmic star formation and chemical enrichment, revealing dependencies at high redshift and in dwarf galaxies.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent simulation approach to study the impact of variable IMFs on galaxy evolution and chemical signatures, highlighting conditions that match observations.

Findings

IMF effects are prominent at z>4 or [Fe/H]<-2

Preferred IMF varies with star formation rate and mass

Possible explanations for the [alpha/Fe] problem in ellipticals

Abstract

Using self-consistent chemodynamical simulations including star formation, supernova feedback, and chemical enrichment, I show the dependence of cosmic star formation and chemical enrichment histories on the initial mass function (IMF). The effects of Pop-III IMF can be only seen in the elemental abundance ratios at z>4 or [Fe/H]<-2. The preferable IMF has a flatter slope in the case of high star formation rate (SFR) and smaller upper-mass (~20Msun) in the case of low SFR, which is consistent with the observed elemental abundances of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. However, the [alpha/Fe] problem of elliptical galaxies may require other solutions.