
arXiv: 2209.10461
Abstract This paper presents improved constraints on the low-mass stellar initial mass function (IMF) of the Boötes I (Boo I) ultrafaint dwarf galaxy, based on our analysis of recent deep imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope. The identification of candidate stellar members of Boo I in the photometric catalog produced from these data was achieved using a Bayesian approach, informed by complementary archival imaging data for the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Additionally, the existence of earlier-epoch data for the fields in Boo I allowed us to derive proper motions for a subset of the sources and thus identify and remove likely Milky Way stars. We were also able to determine the absolute proper motion of Boo I, and our result is in agreement with, but completely independent of, the measurement(s) by Gaia. The best-fitting parameter values of three different forms of the low-mass IMF were then obtained through forward modeling of the color–magnitude data for likely Boo I member stars within an approximate Bayesian computation Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. The best-fitting single power-law IMF slope is α = − 1.95 − 0.28 + 0.32 , while the best-fitting broken power-law slopes are α 1 = − 1.67 − 0.57 + 0.48 and α 2 = − 2.57 − 1.04 + 0.93 . The best-fitting lognormal characteristic mass and width parameters are M c = 0.17 − 0.11 + 0.05 ⊙ and σ = 0.49 − 0.20 + 0.13 . These broken power-law and lognormal IMF parameters for Boo I are consistent with published results for the stars within the Milky Way, and thus it is plausible that Boötes I and the Milky Way are populated by the same stellar IMF.
FOS: Physical sciences, Initial mass function, Dwarf spheroidal galaxies, Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, QB460-466, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Low mass stars, Proper motions, Space astrometry, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
FOS: Physical sciences, Initial mass function, Dwarf spheroidal galaxies, Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, QB460-466, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA), Low mass stars, Proper motions, Space astrometry, Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 6 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
