scholarly journals A nonlinear model for rotating cool stars

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S273) ◽  
pp. 465-468
Author(s):  
Sydney A. Barnes

AbstractA simple nonlinear model is introduced here to describe the rotational evolution of main sequence cool (FGKM) stars. It is formulated only in terms of the ratio of a star's rotation period, P, to its convective turnover timescale, τ, and two dimensionless constants which are specified using solar- and open cluster data. The model explains the origin of the two sequences, C/fast and I/slow, of rotating stars observed in open cluster color-period diagrams, and describes their evolution from C-type to I-type through the rotational gap, g, separating them. It explains why intermediate-mass open cluster stars have the longest periods, while higher- and lower-mass cool stars have shorter periods. It provides an exact expression for the age of a rotating cool star in terms of P and τ, thereby generalizing gyrochronology. The possible range of initial periods is shown to contribute upto 128 Myr to the gyro age errors of solar mass field stars. A transformation to color-period space shows how this model explains some detailed features in the color-period diagrams of open clusters, including the shapes and widths of the sequences, and the observed number density of stars across these diagrams.


2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A16
Author(s):  
D. Gruner ◽  
S. A. Barnes

Context. Gyrochronology allows the derivation of ages for cool main sequence stars based on their observed rotation periods and masses, or a suitable proxy thereof. It is increasingly well-explored for FGK stars, but requires further measurements for older ages and K – M-type stars. Aims. We study the 2.7 Gyr-old open cluster Ruprecht 147 to compare it with the previously-studied, but far more distant, NGC 6819 cluster, and especially to measure cooler stars than was previously possible there. Methods. We constructed an inclusive list of 102 cluster members from prior work, including Gaia DR2, and for which light curves were also obtained during Campaign 7 of the Kepler/K2 space mission. We placed them in the cluster color-magnitude diagram and checked the related information against appropriate isochrones. The light curves were then corrected for data systematics using Principal Component Analysis on all observed K2 C07 stars and subsequently subjected to periodicity analysis. Results. Periodic signals are found for 32 stars, 21 of which are considered to be both highly reliable and to represent single, or effectively single, Ru 147 stars. These stars cover the spectral types from late-F to mid-M stars, and they have periods ranging from 6 d – 33 d, allowing for a comparison of Ruprecht 147 to both other open clusters and to models of rotational spindown. The derived rotation periods connect reasonably to, overlap with, and extend to lower masses the known rotation period distribution of the 2.5 Gyr-old cluster NGC 6819. Conclusions. The data confirm that cool stars lie on a single surface in rotation period-mass-age space, and they simultaneously challenge its commonly assumed shape. The shape at the low mass region of the color-period diagram at the age of Ru 147 favors a recently-proposed model which requires a third mass-dependent timescale in addition to the two timescales required by a former model, suggesting that a third physical process is required to model rotating stars effectively.



2020 ◽  
Vol 641 ◽  
pp. A51 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Fritzewski ◽  
S. A. Barnes ◽  
D. J. James ◽  
K. G. Strassmeier

Aims. We wish to measure the cool star rotation period distribution for the Pleiades-age rich open cluster NGC 2516 and use it to determine whether cluster-to-cluster variations exist in otherwise identical open clusters. Methods. We obtained 42 d-long time-series CCD photometry of NGC 2516 in the V and Ic filters using the Yale 1 m telescope at CTIO and performed a number of related analyses, including PSF-based time-series photometry. Our data are complemented with additional information from several photometric datasets, literature radial velocities, and Gaia DR2 astrometry. All available data are used to construct an integrated membership list for NGC 2516, containing 844 stars in our ≈1° field of view. Results. We derived 308 rotation periods for late-F to mid-M cluster members from our photometry. We identified an additional 247 periodic M dwarf stars from a prior study as cluster members, and used these to construct a 555-star rotation period distribution for NGC 2516. The colour-period diagram (in multiple colours) has almost no outliers and exhibits the anticipated triangular shape, with a diagonal slow rotator sequence that is preferentially occupied by the warmer stars along with a flat fast rotator sequence that is preferentially populated by the cooler cluster members. We also find a group of extremely slowly rotating M dwarfs (10 d ≲ Prot ≲ 23 d), forming a branch in the colour-period diagram which we call the “extended slow rotator sequence”. This, and other features of the rotational distribution can also be found in the Pleiades, making the colour-period diagrams of the two clusters nearly indistinguishable. A comparison with the well-studied (and similarly aged) open cluster M 35 indicates that the cluster’s rotational distribution is also similarly indistinguishable from that of NGC 2516. Those for the open clusters M 50 and Blanco 1 are similar, but data issues for those clusters make the comparisons somewhat more ambiguous. Nevertheless, we demonstrate the existence of a representative zero-age main sequence rotational distribution and provide a simple colour-independent way to represent it. We perform a detailed comparison of the NGC 2516 rotation period data with a number of recent rotational evolution models. Using X-ray data from the literature, we also construct the first rotation-activity diagram for solar-type stars in NGC 2516, one that we find is essentially indistinguishable from those for the Pleiades and Blanco 1. Conclusions. The two clusters NGC 2516 and Pleiades can be considered twins in terms of stellar rotation and related properties (and M 35, M 50, and Blanco 1 are similar), suggesting that otherwise identical open clusters also have intrinsically similar cool star rotation and activity distributions.



2004 ◽  
Vol 215 ◽  
pp. 127-135
Author(s):  
John R. Stauffer

Bob Kraft (1967) showed that there is a break in the mean rotational velocity of stars at about spectral type F5, with more massive stars generally being rapid rotators and less massive stars generally being slow rotators. He also showed that in the late F spectral range at least, there is an evolution with time on the main sequence, with younger F stars being more rapidly rotating. Kraft's observational database extended only to about one solar mass due to the sensitivy limitations of photographic plates. Modern observations of low mass stars in open clusters, extending down in mass to nearly the hydrogen burning mass limit in a few clusters, have since been used to show that rotational spindown is the common feature of stars less massive than the sun but that there is a wide spread in rotational velocities when stars arrive on the ZAMS. I will review what is known empirically concerning the rotational velocities of intermediate and low mass field stars, using the open cluster data to place the field star observations in context.



2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A154 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gondoin

Context. Characterising the time evolution of magnetic activity on Sun-like stars is important not only for stellar physics but also for determining the environment in which planets evolve. Aims. In recent decades, many surveys of open clusters have produced extensive rotation periods measurements on Sun-like stars of different ages. The present study uses this information with the aim to improve the description of their magnetic activity evolution. Methods. I present a method that infers the long-term evolution of Ca II chromospheric (R′HK) and X-ray coronal (LX) emission on solar mass stars by combining a best fit parametric model of their rotation evolution with empirical rotation-activity relationships. Results. The inferred scenario reproduces the high chromospheric and coronal emission levels around R′HK ≈ 10−4 and LX ≈ 1030 erg s−1 that are observed on pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. At the end of the PMS contraction phase around the age of ~30 Myr, the slowest rotating stars experience a rapid transition of their magnetic activity to more moderate levels around R′HK ≈ 4 × 10−5 and L5 ≈ 1029 erg s−1. This transition occurs later on more rapidly rotating stars, up to an age of ~600 Myr for the fastest rotators. After this brief episode of large magnetic activity decay, the average chromospheric and coronal emission levels of solar-mass stars decrease steadily converging towards similar values (R′HK ≈ 10−5 and LX ≈ 1027 erg s−1) by the age of the Sun. Conclusion. The study suggests that solar mass stars in open clusters with ages between ~30 and ~600 Myr exhibit bimodal distributions of their R′HK chromospheric activity indices and coronal X-ray to bolometric luminosity ratios that can be traced back to their rotation evolution. This conclusion is consistent with available measurements of activity indices from Sun-like stars in nearby open clusters.



2020 ◽  
Vol 216 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Güdel

AbstractMagnetic activity of stars like the Sun evolves in time because of spin-down owing to angular momentum removal by a magnetized stellar wind. These magnetic fields are generated by an internal dynamo driven by convection and differential rotation. Spin-down therefore converges at an age of about 700 Myr for solar-mass stars to values uniquely determined by the stellar mass and age. Before that time, however, rotation periods and their evolution depend on the initial rotation period of a star after it has lost its protostellar/protoplanetary disk. This non-unique rotational evolution implies similar non-unique evolutions for stellar winds and for the stellar high-energy output. I present a summary of evolutionary trends for stellar rotation, stellar wind mass loss and stellar high-energy output based on observations and models.



2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A80 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Gallet ◽  
E. Bolmont ◽  
J. Bouvier ◽  
S. Mathis ◽  
C. Charbonnel

Context. The surface angular velocity evolution of low-mass stars is now globally understood and the main physical mechanisms involved in it are observationally quite constrained. However, while the general behaviour of these mechanisms is grasped, their theoretical description is still under ongoing work. This is the case, for instance, about the description of the physical process that extracts angular momentum from the radiative core, which could be described by several theoretical candidates. Additionally, recent observations showed anomalies in the rotation period distribution of open cluster, main sequence, early K-type stars that cannot be reproduced by current angular momentum evolution models. Aims. In this work, we study the parameter space of star-planet system’s configurations to investigate if including the tidal star-planet interaction in angular momentum evolution models could reproduce the anomalies of this rotation period distribution. Methods. To study this effect, we use a parametric angular momentum evolution model that allows for core-envelope decoupling and angular momentum extraction by magnetized stellar wind that we coupled to an orbital evolution code where we take into account the torque due to the tides raised on the star by the planet. We explore different stellar and planetary configurations (stellar mass from 0.5 to 1.0 M⊙ and planetary mass from 10 M⊕ to 13 Mjup) to study their effect on the planetary orbital and stellar rotational evolution. Results. The stellar angular momentum is the most impacted by the star-planet interaction when the planet is engulfed during the early main sequence phase. Thus, if a close-in Jupiter-mass planet is initially located at around 50% of the stellar corotation radius, a kink in the rotational period distribution opens around late and early K-type stars during the early main sequence phase. Conclusions. Tidal star-planet interactions can create a kink in the rotation period distribution of low-mass stars, which could possibly account for unexpected scatter seen in the rotational period distribution of young stellar clusters.



2011 ◽  
Vol 733 (2) ◽  
pp. 115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Meibom ◽  
Robert D. Mathieu ◽  
Keivan G. Stassun ◽  
Paul Liebesny ◽  
Steven H. Saar


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S258) ◽  
pp. 363-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Irwin ◽  
Jerome Bouvier

AbstractWe summarise recent progress in the understanding of the rotational evolution of low-mass stars (here defined as solar mass down to the hydrogen burning limit) both in terms of observations and modelling. Wide-field imaging surveys on moderate-size telescopes can now efficiently derive rotation periods for hundreds to thousands of open cluster members, providing unprecedented sample sizes which are ripe for exploration. We summarise the available measurements, and provide simple phenomenological and model-based interpretations of the presently-available data, while highlighting regions of parameter space where more observations are required, particularly at the lowest masses and ages ≳500 Myr.



2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A76 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Spada ◽  
A. C. Lanzafame

Solar-like stars (M ≲ 1.3 M⊙) lose angular momentum through their magnetized winds. The resulting evolution of the surface rotation period, which can be directly measured photometrically, has the potential to be an accurate indicator of stellar age, and is constrained by observations of rotation periods of coeval stars, such as members of Galactic open clusters. A prominent observational feature of the mass–rotation period diagrams of open clusters is a sequence of relatively slower rotators. The formation and persistence of this slow-rotator sequence across several billion years imply an approximately coherent spin-down of the stars that belong to it. In particular, the sequence is observed to evolve coherently toward longer periods in progressively older clusters. Recent observations of the ≈700 Myr Praesepe and the 1 Gyr NGC 6811 clusters, however, are not fully consistent with this general pattern. While the stars of 1 M⊙ on the slow-rotator sequence of the older NGC 6811 have longer periods than their counterparts in the younger Praesepe, as expected, the two sequences essentially merge at lower masses (≲0.8 M⊙). In other words, it seems that low-mass stars have not been spinning down in the intervening 300 Myr. Here we show that this behavior is a manifestation of the variable rotational coupling in solar-like stars. The resurfacing of angular momentum from the interior can temporarily compensate for that lost at the surface due to wind braking. In our model the internal redistribution of angular momentum has a steep mass dependence; as a result, the re-coupling occurs at different ages for stars of different masses. The semi-empirical mass dependence of the rotational coupling timescale included in our model produces an evolution of the slow-rotator sequence in very good agreement with the observations. Our model, in particular, explains the stalled surface spin-down of low-mass stars between Praesepe and NGC 6811, and predicts that the same behavior should be observable at other ages in other mass ranges.



Author(s):  
Ataru Tanikawa ◽  
Tomoya Kinugawa ◽  
Jun Kumamoto ◽  
Michiko S Fujii

Abstract We estimate formation rates of LB-1-like systems through dynamical interactions in the framework of the theory of stellar evolution before the discovery of the LB-1 system. The LB-1 system contains a ∼70 ${M_{\odot}}$ black hole (BH), a so-called pair instability (PI) gap BH, and a B-type star with solar metallicity, and has nearly zero eccentricity. The most efficient formation mechanism is as follows. In an open cluster, a naked helium star (with ∼20 ${M_{\odot}}$) collides with a heavy main sequence star (with ∼50 ${M_{\odot}}$) which has a B-type companion. The collision results in a binary consisting of the collision product and the B-type star with a high eccentricity. The binary can be circularized through the dynamical tide with radiative damping of the collision product envelope. Finally, the collision product collapses to a PI-gap BH, avoiding pulsational pair instability and pair instability supernovae because its He core is as massive as the pre-colliding naked He star. We find that the number of LB-1-like systems in the Milky Way galaxy is ∼0.01(ρoc/104 ${M_{\odot}}$ pc−3), where ρoc is the initial mass densities of open clusters. If we take into account LB-1-like systems with O-type companion stars, the number increases to ∼0.03(ρoc/104 ${M_{\odot}}$ pc−3). This mechanism can form LB-1-like systems at least ten times more efficiently than the other mechanisms: captures of B-type stars by PI-gap BHs, stellar collisions between other types of stars, and stellar mergers in hierarchical triple systems. We conclude that no dynamical mechanism can explain the presence of the LB-1 system.



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