Applications of the IGIMF-theory to the astrophysics of galaxies
  The functional form of the galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function is of
fundamental importance for understanding galaxies. So far this stellar initial
mass function has been assumed to be identical to the IMF observed directly in
star clusters. But because stars form predominantly in embedded groups rather
than uniformly distributed over the whole galaxy, the galaxy-wide IMF needs to
be calculated by adding all IMFs of all embedded groups. This integrated
galactic stellar initial mass function (IGIMF) is steeper than the canonical
IMF and steepens with decreasing SFR, leading to fundamental new insights and
understanding of star forming properties of galaxies. This contribution reviews
the existing applications of the IGIMF theory to galactic astrophysics, while
the parallel contribution by Weidner, Pflamm-Altenburg & Kroupa (this volume)
introduces the IGIMF theory.
