vice.singlezone.recycling

Type : real number or str [case-insensitive]

Default : “continuous”

The cumulative return fraction \(r(t)\). This is the mass fraction of a single stellar population returned to the interstellar medium as gas at the birth metallicity of the stars.

The only allowed string is “continuous” [case-insensitive]. In this case VICE will implement time-dependent recycling from each episode of star formation via a treatment of the stellar initial mass function and the initial-final remnant mass model of Kalirai at al. (2008) 1.

Numbers must be between 0 and 1 (inclusive), and will be interpreted as the instantaneous recycling fraction: the fraction of a stellar population’s mass that is returned to the interstellar medium immediately following its formation.

Note

In the case of instantaneous recycling, it is recommened that users adopt r = 0.4 with the Kroupa 2 IMF and r = 0.2 with the Salpeter 3 IMF based on the findings of Weinberg, Andrews & Freudenburg (2017) 4.

Example Code

>>> import vice
>>> sz = vice.singlezone(name = "example", IMF = "kroupa")
>>> sz.recycling = 0.4
>>> sz.IMF = "salpeter"
>>> sz.recycling = 0.2
>>> sz.recycling = "continuous"
1

Kalirai et al. (2008), ApJ, 676, 594

2

Kroupa (2001), MNRAS, 231, 322

3

Salpeter (1955), ApJ, 131, 161

4

Weinberg, Andrews & Freudenburg (2017), ApJ, 837, 183