Merger-driven evolution of the effective stellar initial mass function of massive early-type galaxies

TL;DR

This paper models how dry mergers influence the evolution of the effective stellar initial mass function (IMF) in massive early-type galaxies from redshift 2 to 0, highlighting changes in IMF normalization and correlations with galaxy properties.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model combining cosmological simulations and empirical IMF prescriptions to predict IMF evolution driven by dry mergers in massive galaxies.

Findings

IMF normalization becomes lighter over time.

At fixed velocity dispersion, IMF remains constant with redshift.

Dry mergers alter the correlation between IMF and stellar mass.

Abstract

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies is the combination of the IMF of the stellar population formed in-situ and that of accreted stellar populations. Using as an observable the effective IMF $\alpha_{IMF}$, defined as the ratio between the true stellar mass of a galaxy and the stellar mass inferred assuming a Salpeter IMF, we present a theoretical model for its evolution as a result of dry mergers. We use a simple dry merger evolution model, based on cosmological $N$-body simulations, together with empirically motivated prescriptions for the IMF to make predictions for how the effective IMF of massive early-type galaxies changes from $z=2$ to $z=0$. We find that the IMF normalization of individual galaxies becomes lighter with time. At fixed velocity dispersion, $\alpha_{IMF}$ is predicted to be constant with redshift. Current constraints on the evolution of the IMF are in slight tension with this prediction, even though systematic uncertainties prevent a conclusive statement. The correlation of $\alpha_{IMF}$ with stellar mass becomes shallower with time, while the correlation between $\alpha_{IMF}$ and velocity dispersion is mostly preserved by dry mergers. We also find that dry mergers can mix the dependence of the IMF on stellar mass and velocity dispersion, making it challenging to infer, from $z=0$ observations of global galactic properties, what is the quantity that is originally coupled with the IMF.