The Stellar Initial Mass Function in the Center of MASSIVE Early-Type Galaxies

The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is a fundamental property in the measurements of stellar masses and galaxy star formation histories. I will present the stellar IMF in the center of nearby massive galaxies in the MASSIVE survey based on high quality Magellan/LDSS-3 long-slit spectroscopy and detailed stellar synthesis modeling. I will focus on the relations among stellar IMF, global galaxy properties, and stellar populations, and discuss the interesting implications of the physical processes driving the global stellar IMF variation.