The cluster initial mass function of the M82 disc super star clusters

Abstract

ABSTRACT The presence of a population of a large number (∼400) of almost coeval (100–300 Myr) super star clusters (SSCs) in the disc of M82 offers an opportunity to construct the Cluster Initial Mass Function (CIMF) from the observed present-day Cluster Mass Function (CMF). We carry out the dynamical and photometric evolution of the CMF assuming that the clusters move in circular orbits under the gravitational potential of the host galaxy using the semi-analytical simulation code Evolve Me a Cluster of StarS. We explore power-law and lognormal functions for the CIMFs, and populate the clusters in the disc assuming uniform, power-law, and exponential radial distribution functions. We find that the observed CMF is best produced by a CIMF that is power law in form with an index of 1.8, for a power-law radial distribution function. More importantly, we establish that the observed turn-over in the present-day CMF is the result of observational incompleteness rather than due to dynamically induced effects, or an intrinsically lognormal CIMF, as was proposed for the fossil starburst region B of this galaxy. Our simulations naturally reproduce the mass–radius relation observed for a sub-sample of M82 SSCs.