On the upper limit on stellar masses in the Large Magellanic Cloud cluster R136
Abstract
A truncated power-law distribution is fitted to the 29 largest stellar masses known in R136.
Two different statistical techniques are used, with comparable results. An upper limit to the
mass distribution of the order of 140–160 M is derived, while the power-law exponent is in
the approximate range 0.9–1.7. A power-law distribution with no upper limit on the mass can
be rejected with considerable confidence. It is recommended that the calculations be repeated
when more reliable mass estimates are available.