Slope of the mass function of low-mass stars

It is shown that the modern method of obtaining the initial mass function contains a number of a uncertainties that can have a significant effect on the slope of the function in the low-mass section (m < m**). The influence of changes of the mass-luminosity relation, the scale of bolometric corrections, and the luminosity function on the form of the mass function is considered. The effect of photometrically unresolved binaries is also discussed. Some quantitative estimates are made, and it is shown that the slope of the initial mass function in the low-mass section can vary in wide ranges