Gould's Belt to Starburst Galaxies: The IMF of Extreme Star Formation.

Recent results indicate the stellar initial mass function is not a strong function of star-forming environment or "initial conditions" (e.g. Meyer et al. 2000). Some studies suggest that a universal IMF may extend to sub-stellar masses (see however Briceno et al. 2002). Yet most of this work is confined to star-forming environments within 1 kpc of the Sun. In order to probe the universality of the IMF over a wider range of parameter space (metalicity, ambient pressure, magnetic field strength) new techniques are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]