Destruction of wide binary stars in low mass elliptical galaxies: implications for initial mass function estimates

Abstract

We discuss the effects of destruction of wide binaries in the nuclei of the lower mass giant elliptical galaxies. We show that the numbers of barium stars and extrinsic S stars should be dramatically reduced in these galaxies compared to what is seen in the largest elliptical galaxies. Given that the extrinsic S stars show strong Wing-Ford band and Na I D absorption, we argue that the recent claims of different initial mass functions from the most massive elliptical galaxies versus lower mass ellipticals may be the result of extrinsic S stars, rather than bottom-heavy initial mass function.

5 pages, 1 figure, accepted to MNRAS letters

References in corpus (5)

• A systematic variation of the stellar initial mass function in early-type galaxies
• The Black Hole Mass, Stellar M/L, and Dark Halo in M87
• A binary model for the UV-upturn of elliptical galaxies (MNRAS version)
• A study of the population of LMXBs in the bulge of M31
• X-Ray Binaries and the Current Dynamical States of Galactic Globular Clusters

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Galaxies as simple dynamical systems: observational data disfavor dark matter and stochastic star formation
• The binarity of Milky Way F,G,K stars as a function of effective temperature and metallicity
• Testing the Universality of the Stellar IMF with Chandra and HST
• A modern view of galaxies and their stellar populations