A new article published in “Universe” describes an approach that looks back from the deaths of stars to their births, allowing the so-called initial mass function (IMF), i.e. the way in which star masses are distributed after their formation, to be derived from observations of supernovae and gamma radiation. By applying a common computational method of parameter estimation, scientists have managed to derive the IMF of regions of the cosmos that are too distant for direct observation by telescope. The work was conducted by a team of researchers from the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) of Trieste, the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IFPU) and the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).
The IMF obtained by the authors of the study was surprisingly similar to that measured in regions of the Universe closest to us. The scientists consider this to be possible evidence of a universal IMF. The result will now be tested by observations made by telescopes such as the JWST and Euclid. (Image by David Kopacz on Pexels)