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The Initial Mass Function in the Galactic Center

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Starburst Galaxies: Near and Far

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Physics ((SPPHY,volume 88))

Abstract

The Galactic Center contains the most massive young clusters in the Galaxy and serves as the closest example of a massive starburst region. Our recent results suggest that the Galactic Center environment produces massive clusters with relatively flat initial mass functions, as might be expected on theoretical grounds. I will discuss these recent results, along with evidence for star formation in the immediate vicinity of the super massive black hole at the Galactic Center. The results of this work might be useful in extrapolating to other galactic centers with similar conditions, as well as other starburst regions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Donald F. Figer

  2. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Donald F. Figer

Authors
  1. Donald F. Figer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, 85741, Garching, Germany

    Linda Tacconi  & Dieter Lutz  & 

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Figer, D.F. (2001). The Initial Mass Function in the Galactic Center. In: Tacconi, L., Lutz, D. (eds) Starburst Galaxies: Near and Far. Springer Proceedings in Physics, vol 88. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56538-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56538-0_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62562-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56538-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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