scholarly journals Gyrochronology and its usage for main sequence field star ages

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S258) ◽  
pp. 345-356
Author(s):  
Sydney A. Barnes

AbstractThe construction of all age indicators consists of certain basic steps which lead to the identification of the properties desirable for stellar age indicators. Prior age indicators for main sequence field stars possess only some of these properties. The measured rotation periods of cool stars are particularly useful in this respect because they have well-defined dependencies that allow stellar ages to be determined with ~20% errors. This method, called gyrochronology, is explained informally in this talk, shown to have the desired properties, compared to prior methods, and used to derive ages for samples of main sequence field stars.

1991 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 492-493
Author(s):  
O. Vilhu ◽  
B. Gustafsson ◽  
F.M. Walter

AbstractHα and HeI D3 lines were observed in five active cool stars over their relatively short rotation periods. Three of the stars (AB Dor, Rstl37B, HD82558) are in the pre main sequence phase (as deduced from their lithium abundances), while two are post main sequence FK Comae type stars (HD32918 and BD-223467) (Vilhu et al., 1991). We present the results of these observations and point out the physical similarity of the Hα and He D3 transitions (Fig.1).


2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A48 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mittag ◽  
J. H. M. M. Schmitt ◽  
K.-P. Schröder

The connection between stellar rotation, stellar activity, and convective turnover time is revisited with a focus on the sole contribution of magnetic activity to the Ca II H&K emission, the so-called excess flux, and its dimensionless indicator R+HK in relation to other stellar parameters and activity indicators. Our study is based on a sample of 169 main-sequence stars with directly measured Mount Wilson S-indices and rotation periods. The R+HK values are derived from the respective S-indices and related to the rotation periods in various B–V-colour intervals. First, we show that stars with vanishing magnetic activity, i.e. stars whose excess flux index R+HK approaches zero, have a well-defined, colour-dependent rotation period distribution; we also show that this rotation period distribution applies to large samples of cool stars for which rotation periods have recently become available. Second, we use empirical arguments to equate this rotation period distribution with the global convective turnover time, which is an approach that allows us to obtain clear relations between the magnetic activity related excess flux index R+HK, rotation periods, and Rossby numbers. Third, we show that the activity versus Rossby number relations are very similar in the different activity indicators. As a consequence of our study, we emphasize that our Rossby number based on the global convective turnover time approaches but does not exceed unity even for entirely inactive stars. Furthermore, the rotation-activity relations might be universal for different activity indicators once the proper scalings are used.


2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (1) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Booth ◽  
K Poppenhaeger ◽  
C A Watson ◽  
V Silva Aguirre ◽  
D Stello ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Stellar magnetic activity decays over the main-sequence life of cool stars due to the stellar spin-down driven by magnetic braking. The evolution of chromospheric emission is well studied for younger stars, but difficulties in determining the ages of older cool stars on the main sequence have complicated such studies for older stars in the past. Here, we report on chromospheric Ca ii H and K line measurements for 26 main-sequence cool stars with asteroseismic ages older than a gigayear and spectral types F and G. We find that for the G stars and the cooler F-type stars that still have convective envelopes the magnetic activity continues to decrease at stellar ages above 1 Gyr. Our magnetic activity measurements do not show evidence for a stalling of the magnetic braking mechanism, which has been reported for stellar rotation versus age for G- and F-type stars. We also find that the measured $R^{\prime }_{\mathrm{ HK}}$ indicator value for the cool F stars in our sample is lower than predicted by common age–activity relations that are mainly calibrated on data from young stellar clusters. We conclude that, within individual spectral type bins, chromospheric magnetic activity correlates well with stellar age even for old stars.


2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. L5 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Irrgang ◽  
S. Kreuzer ◽  
U. Heber ◽  
W. Brown

Context. Hypervelocity stars (HVSs) travel so fast that they may leave the Galaxy. The tidal disruption of a binary system by the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center is widely assumed to be their ejection mechanism. Aims. To test the hypothesis of an origin in the Galactic center using kinematic investigations, the current space velocities of the HVSs need to be determined. With the advent of Gaia’s second data release, accurate radial velocities from spectroscopy are complemented by proper motion measurements of unprecedented quality. Based on a new spectroscopic analysis method, we provide revised distances and stellar ages, both of which are crucial to unravel the nature of the HVSs. Methods. We reanalyzed low-resolution optical spectra of 14 HVSs from the MMT HVS survey using a new grid of synthetic spectra, which account for deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, radial velocities, and projected rotational velocities. Stellar masses, radii, and ages were then determined by comparison with stellar evolutionary models that account for rotation. Finally, these results were combined with photometric measurements to obtain spectroscopic distances. Results. The resulting atmospheric parameters are consistent with those of main sequence stars with masses in the range 2.5–5.0 M⊙. The majority of the stars rotate at fast speeds, providing further evidence for their main sequence nature. Stellar ages range from 90 to 400 Myr and distances (with typical 1σ-uncertainties of about 10–15%) from 30 to 100 kpc. Except for one object (B 711), which we reclassify as A-type star, all stars are of spectral type B. Conclusions. The spectroscopic distances and stellar ages derived here are key ingredients for upcoming kinematic studies of HVSs based on Gaia proper motions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. A66 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Freund ◽  
J. Robrade ◽  
P. C. Schneider ◽  
J. H. M. M. Schmitt

Aims. We revisit the X-ray properties of the main sequence Hyades members and the relation between X-ray emission and stellar rotation. Methods. As an input catalog for Hyades members, we combined three recent Hyades membership lists derived from Gaia DR2 data that include the Hyades core and its tidal tails. We searched for X-ray detections of the main sequence Hyades members in the ROSAT all-sky survey, and pointings from ROSAT, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and XMM-Newton. Furthermore, we adopted rotation periods derived from Kepler’s K2 mission and other resources. Results. We find an X-ray detection for 281 of 1066 bona fide main sequence Hyades members and provide statistical upper limits for the undetected sources. The majority of the X-ray detected stars are located in the Hyades core because of its generally smaller distance to the Sun. F- and G-type stars have the highest detection fraction (72%), while K- and M-type dwarfs have lower detection rates (22%). The X-ray luminosities of the detected members range from ∼2 × 1027 erg s−1 for late M-type dwarfs to ∼2 × 1030 erg s−1 for active binaries. The X-ray luminosity distribution functions formally differ for the members in the core and tidal tails, which is likely caused by a larger fraction of field stars in our Hyades tails sample. Compared to previous studies, our sample is slightly fainter in X-rays due to differences in the Hyades membership list used; furthermore, we extend the X-ray luminosity distribution to fainter luminosities. The X-ray activity of F- and G-type stars is well defined at FX/Fbol ≈ 10−5. The fractional X-ray luminosity and its spread increases to later spectral types reaching the saturation limit (FX/Fbol ≈ 10−3) for members later than spectral type M3. Confirming previous results, the X-ray flux varies by less than a factor of three between epochs for the 104 Hyades members with multiple epoch data, significantly less than expected from solar-like activity cycles. Rotation periods are found for 204 Hyades members, with about half of them being detected in X-rays. The activity-rotation relation derived for the coeval Hyades members has properties very similar to those obtained by other authors investigating stars of different ages.


1984 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 283-288
Author(s):  
Hugh C. Harris

AbstractA survey of F, G, and W supergiants has been carried out with the DAO radial velocity spectrometer, an efficient instrument for detecting low-amplitude velocity variations in cool stars. Observations of 78 stars over five seasons show generally good agreement with OORAVEL results for spectroscopie binaries. The majority of supergiants show low-amplitude variability, with amplitudes typically 1 to 2 km s−1. The width of the cross-correlation profile has been measured for 58 supergiants. It reveals 14 stars with unusually broad lines, indicative of rotation velocities of 15 to 35 km s−1. Several have short-period binary companions and may be in synchronous rotation. The other broad-lined stars are apparently single or with long orbital periods; they may be making their first transition from the main sequence to become red supergiants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 2250-2259
Author(s):  
Hsiang-Chih Hwang ◽  
Jacob H Hamer ◽  
Nadia L Zakamska ◽  
Kevin C Schlaufman

ABSTRACT There is an ongoing debate on whether hot Jupiter hosts are more likely to be found in wide binaries with separations of ≳100 AU. In this paper, we search for comoving, very wide companions with separations of 103–104 AU for hot Jupiter hosts and main-sequence contact binaries in Gaia DR2, and compare the very wide companion fractions with their object-by-object-matched field star samples. We find that 11.9 ± 2.5 per cent of hot Jupiter hosts and 14.1 ± 1.0 per cent of contact binaries have companions at separations of 103–104 AU. While the very wide companion fraction of hot Jupiter hosts is a factor of 1.9 ± 0.5 larger than their matched field star sample, it is consistent, within ∼1σ, with that of matched field stars if the matching is only with field stars without close companions (within ∼50 AU) as is the case for hot Jupiter hosts. The very wide companion fraction of contact binaries is a factor of 3.1 ± 0.5 larger than their matched field star sample, suggesting that the formation and evolution of contact binaries are either tied to or correlated with the presence of wide companions. In contrast, the weak enhancement of very wide companion fraction for hot Jupiter hosts implies that the formation of hot Jupiters is not as sensitive to those environment properties. Our results also hint that the occurrence rates of dual hot Jupiter hosts and dual contact binaries may be higher than the expected values from random pairing of field stars, which may be due to their underlying metallicity and age dependence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 1158-1177
Author(s):  
R D Jeffries ◽  
R J Jackson ◽  
Qinghui Sun ◽  
Constantine P Deliyannis

ABSTRACT New fibre spectroscopy and radial velocities from the WIYN telescope are used to measure photospheric lithium in 242 high-probability, zero-age main-sequence F- to K-type members of the rich cluster M35. Combining these with published rotation periods, the connection between lithium depletion and rotation is studied in unprecedented detail. At Teff < 5500 K there is a strong relationship between faster rotation and less Li depletion, although with a dispersion larger than measurement uncertainties. Components of photometrically identified binary systems follow the same relationship. A correlation is also established between faster rotation rate (or smaller Rossby number), decreased Li depletion and larger stellar radius at a given Teff. These results support models where star-spots and interior magnetic fields lead to inflated radii and reduced Li depletion during the pre-main-sequence (PMS) phase for the fastest rotators. However, the data are also consistent with the idea that all stars suffered lower levels of Li depletion than predicted by standard PMS models, perhaps because of deficiencies in those models or because saturated levels of magnetic activity suppress Li depletion equally in PMS stars of similar Teff regardless of rotation rate, and that slower rotators subsequently experience more mixing and post-PMS Li depletion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A41 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Pizzocaro ◽  
B. Stelzer ◽  
E. Poretti ◽  
S. Raetz ◽  
G. Micela ◽  
...  

The relation between magnetic activity and rotation in late-type stars provides fundamental information on stellar dynamos and angular momentum evolution. Rotation-activity studies found in the literature suffer from inhomogeneity in the measurement of activity indexes and rotation periods. We overcome this limitation with a study of the X-ray emitting, late-type main-sequence stars observed by XMM-Newton and Kepler. We measured rotation periods from photometric variability in Kepler light curves. As activity indicators, we adopted the X-ray luminosity, the number frequency of white-light flares, the amplitude of the rotational photometric modulation, and the standard deviation in the Kepler light curves. The search for X-ray flares in the light curves provided by the EXTraS (Exploring the X-ray Transient and variable Sky) FP-7 project allows us to identify simultaneous X-ray and white-light flares. A careful selection of the X-ray sources in the Kepler field yields 102 main-sequence stars with spectral types from A to M. We find rotation periods for 74 X-ray emitting main-sequence stars, 20 of which do not have period reported in the previous literature. In the X-ray activity-rotation relation, we see evidence for the traditional distinction of a saturated and a correlated part, the latter presenting a continuous decrease in activity towards slower rotators. For the optical activity indicators the transition is abrupt and located at a period of ~10 d but it can be probed only marginally with this sample, which is biased towards fast rotators due to the X-ray selection. We observe seven bona-fide X-ray flares with evidence for a white-light counterpart in simultaneous Kepler data. We derive an X-ray flare frequency of ~0.15 d−1, consistent with the optical flare frequency obtained from the much longer Kepler time-series.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S258) ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne A. Hillenbrand

AbstractThis overview summarizes the age dating methods available for young sub-solar mass stars. Pre-main sequence age diagnostics include the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, spectroscopic surface gravity indicators, and lithium depletion; asteroseismology is also showing recent promise. Near and beyond the zero-age main sequence, rotation period or vsiniand activity (coronal and chromospheric) diagnostics along with lithium depletion serve as age proxies. Other authors in this volume present more detail in each of the aforementioned areas. Herein, I focus on pre-main sequence HR diagrams and address the questions: Do empirical young cluster isochrones match theoretical isochrones? Do isochrones predict stellar ages consistent with those derived via other independent techniques? Do the observed apparent luminosity spreads at constant effective temperature correspond to true age spreads? While definitive answers to these questions are not provided, some methods of progression are outlined.


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