This book presents the proceedings of a conference held in celebration of the
50th anniversary of the introduction of the Initial Mass Function (IMF) concept
by Ed Salpeter along with Ed Salpeter´s 80th birthday. It provides a vast
amount of information, and updates the Herstmonceux book on the IMF.This volume
goes far beyond a regular proceedings in that it presents a large collection of
long reviews on IMF determinations in the Galaxy, in galaxies, and in the Early
Universe. In addition, the book includes reviews on the deep implications of
the IMF on star formation theories, and on the physical conditions of the gas
before and after star formation. As a consequence, the reader will find a lot
of basic information needed for graduate courses on Stellar Evolution, Star
Formation, Interstellar Medium, Galactic Dynamics, Formation and Evolution of
Galaxies.The book covers all aspects of the current research in this field, as
testified by the large number of contributing scientists. TOC:From the contents
Preface.- List of Participants.- The IMF Concept through Time.- The IMF in our
Galaxy: Clusters and field stars.- The IMF in our Galaxy: Star Forming
Regions.- The Extragalactic IMF.- The Origin of the IMF: Atomic and Molecular
Gas Tracers.- The Origin of the IMF: Cloud Fragmentation and Collapse.- The
Origin of the IMF: From Gas to Stars.- The Initial IMF.- Chuzpah Talks.-
Author Index.
