2005/01/07 by M. S. Oey, C. J. Clarke · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/428396
openalex publication_date 2005/01/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We derive the expectation value for the maximum stellar mass ( m max ) in an ensemble of N stars, as a function of the initial mass function (IMF) upper mass cutoff ( m up ) and N . We statistically demonstrate that the upper IMF of the local massive star census observed thus far in the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds clearly exhibits a universal upper mass cutoff around 120-200 M ☉ for a Salpeter IMF, although the result is more ambiguous for a steeper IMF.