%0 Generic %1 popescu2013range %A Popescu, Bogdan %A Hanson, M. M. %D 2013 %K cluster imf mass sampling stellar %T The Range of Variation of the Mass of the Most Massive Star in Stellar Clusters Derived from 35 Million Monte Carlo Simulations %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.5264 %X A growing fraction of Simple Stellar Population (SSP) models, in an aim to create more realistic simulations capable of including stochastic variation in their outputs, begin their simulations with a distribution of discrete stars following a power-law function of masses. Careful attention is needed to create a correctly sampled Initial Mass Function (IMF) and in this contribution we provide a solid mathematical method called MASSCLEAN IMF Sampling for doing so. We then use our method to perform $10$ $million$ MASSCLEAN Monte Carlo stellar cluster simulations to determine the most massive star in a mass distribution as a function of the total mass of the cluster. We find a maximum mass range is predicted, not a single maximum mass. This maximum mass range is (a) dependent on the total mass of the cluster and (b) independent of an upper stellar mass limit, $M_limit$, for $unsaturated$ clusters and comes out naturally using our IMF sampling method. We then turn our analysis around, now starting with our new $25$ $million$ simulated cluster database, to constrain the highest mass star from the observed integrated colors of a sample of 40 low-mass LMC stellar clusters of known age and mass. Finally, we present an analytical description of the maximum mass range of the most massive star as a function of the cluster's total mass, and present a new $M_max-M_cluster$ relation.

@misc{popescu2013range, abstract = {A growing fraction of Simple Stellar Population (SSP) models, in an aim to create more realistic simulations capable of including stochastic variation in their outputs, begin their simulations with a distribution of discrete stars following a power-law function of masses. Careful attention is needed to create a correctly sampled Initial Mass Function (IMF) and in this contribution we provide a solid mathematical method called MASSCLEAN IMF Sampling for doing so. We then use our method to perform $10$ $million$ MASSCLEAN Monte Carlo stellar cluster simulations to determine the most massive star in a mass distribution as a function of the total mass of the cluster. We find a maximum mass range is predicted, not a single maximum mass. This maximum mass range is (a) dependent on the total mass of the cluster and (b) independent of an upper stellar mass limit, $M_{limit}$, for $unsaturated$ clusters and comes out naturally using our IMF sampling method. We then turn our analysis around, now starting with our new $25$ $million$ simulated cluster database, to constrain the highest mass star from the observed integrated colors of a sample of 40 low-mass LMC stellar clusters of known age and mass. Finally, we present an analytical description of the maximum mass range of the most massive star as a function of the cluster's total mass, and present a new $M_{max}-M_{cluster}$ relation.}, added-at = {2013-11-22T19:23:21.000+0100}, author = {Popescu, Bogdan and Hanson, M. M.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2f641bf37da13577cc04ddf1acffeac82/miki}, description = {[1311.5264] The Range of Variation of the Mass of the Most Massive Star in Stellar Clusters Derived from 35 Million Monte Carlo Simulations}, interhash = {da953ee884f85ba9e39983c69af00226}, intrahash = {f641bf37da13577cc04ddf1acffeac82}, keywords = {cluster imf mass sampling stellar}, note = {cite arxiv:1311.5264Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, accepted}, timestamp = {2013-11-22T19:23:21.000+0100}, title = {The Range of Variation of the Mass of the Most Massive Star in Stellar Clusters Derived from 35 Million Monte Carlo Simulations}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.5264}, year = 2013 }