Stellar population synthesis models with a physically varying IMF

TL;DR

This paper introduces the SPS-VarIMF code to model galaxy spectra considering a variable galaxy-wide initial mass function (gwIMF) influenced by star formation rate and metallicity, impacting galaxy evolution interpretations.

Contribution

It develops the first computational tool to simulate galaxy spectra with a time-dependent, environmentally influenced gwIMF, advancing stellar population synthesis modeling.

Findings

Galaxy colors can reveal the underlying gwIMF in late-type galaxies.

Different gwIMFs produce similar colors in early-type galaxies but significantly different mass-to-light ratios.

Massive ellipticals were vastly brighter during their formation epochs.

Abstract

Interpreting galactic luminosity requires assumptions about the galaxy-wide initial mass function (gwIMF), often assumed invariant in most stellar population synthesis (SPS) models. If stars form in clusters with metallicity- and density-dependent \textit{stellar IMFs}, the integrated galaxy-wide IMF (IGIMF) can be calculated, with its shape depending on the star formation rate (SFR) and metallicity. The shape of the IGIMF thus depends on the star formation rate (SFR) and metallicity. We develop the \texttt{SPS-VarIMF} code which enables us for the first time to compute the spectra, luminosities, and remnant populations of galaxies in the context of the varying gwIMF with time, SFR, and an assumed metallicity. Using the \texttt{SPS-VarIMF} code one can calculate how the interpretation from the integrated galactic light may change if the underlying galaxy-wide IMF is assumed to be environmentally dependent instead of being invariant. In particular, we compare the time evolution of the galaxy color and the stellar mass-to-light ratio in different bands for the IGIMF and invariant canonical gwIMF assuming constant and delayed-$\tau$ star formation histories. We show that the underlying gwIMF can be determined by examining the colors and luminosities of late-type galaxies in UV and optical bands. On the other hand, for early-type galaxies, it is difficult to distinguish which gwIMF is valid since adopting the different gwIMFs yields almost identical colors. However, their gwIMF-dependent $M/L$ ratios differ by up to an order of magnitude. Massive present-day elliptical galaxies would have been $10^4$ times as bright as at present when they were forming.