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| Paper: |
Identifying Variations to the IMF at High-z Through Deep Radio Surveys |
| Volume: |
440, UP2010: Have Observations Revealed a Variable Upper End of the Initial Mass Function? |
| Page: |
361 |
| Authors: |
Murphy, E. J. |
| Abstract: |
In this article I briefly describe how deep radio surveys may provide a means to identify variations in the upper end of the initial mass function (IMF) in star-forming galaxies at high redshifts (i.e., z ≳ 3).
At such high redshifts, I argue that deep radio continuum observations at frequencies ≳10 GHz using next generation facilities (e.g., EVLA, MeerKAT, SKA/NAA) will likely provide the most accurate measurements for the ionizing photon rates (star formation rates; SFRs) of normal galaxies since their non-thermal emission should be highly suppressed due to the increased inverse Compton (IC) losses from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), leaving only thermal (free-free) emission detectable.
Thus, a careful analysis of such observations in combination with future ALMA and JWST data, measuring the rest-frame far-infrared and UV emission from the same population of galaxies, may yield the best means to search for variability in the stellar IMF at such epochs. |
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