Stellar IMF variations with JWST + Subaru PFS
Spectro-photometric constraints on the IMF slopes across galaxies.
Almost every quantitative result in galaxy evolution — stellar masses, star-formation rates, mass-to-light ratios — depends on the stellar initial mass function (IMF), the distribution of stellar masses at birth. Universally, we assume a fixed IMF. But growing evidence suggests the IMF may vary with environment, metallicity, or galaxy type, and the systematic effect on cosmological measurements would be substantial.
The third project I’m scoping at ASIAA combines JWST/NIRSpec medium-band spectroscopy (which constrains the high-mass IMF slope through nebular emission) with Subaru/PFS integrated spectroscopy across several dozens of galaxies (which constrains the low-mass slope through gravity-sensitive features).
Project at ASIAA · 2025–present (early stages).