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| Paper: |
The IMF of Field OB Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud |
| Volume: |
465, Four Decades of Massive Star Research - A Scientific Meeting in Honor of Anthony J. Moffat |
| Page: |
440 |
| Authors: |
Lamb, J. B.; Oey, M. S.; Graus, A. S.; Segura-Cox, D. M. |
| Abstract: |
The population of field OB stars is an important component of a galaxy's stellar content, representing 20–30% of the massive stars. To study this population, we have undertaken the Runaways and Isolated O Type Star Spectroscopic Survey of the SMC (RIOTS4). RIOTS4 surveys a spatially complete sample of >350 field OB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud and will serve as a key probe of runaways, binaries, and the stellar IMF in the field massive star population. Here, we focus on the field IMF, which provides an empirical probe of the star-forming process and is a fundamental property of a stellar population. Together with photometry from the OGLE survey, RIOTS4 will yield a definitive stellar IMF for the SMC field massive star population. We present preliminary results that suggests the field IMF is much steeper, Γ = 2.9, than the canonical stellar IMF of Γ = 1.35. Despite the steep slope, we see no evidence of a stellar upper mass limit, up to our highest mass star of 65M☉. |
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