Impact of internal gravity waves on the rotation profile inside pre-main sequence low-mass stars

We study the impact of internal gravity waves (IGW), meridional circulation, shear turbulence, and stellar contraction on the internal rotation profile and surface velocity evolution of solar metallicity low-mass pre-main sequence stars. We compute a grid of rotating stellar evolution models with masses between 0.6 and 2.0Msun taking these processes into account for the transport of angular momentum, as soon as the radiative core appears and assuming no more disk-locking from that moment on.IGW generation along the PMS is computed taking Reynolds-stress and buoyancy into account in the bulk of the stellar convective envelope and convective core (when present). Redistribution of angular momentum within the radiative layers accounts for damping of prograde and retrograde IGW by thermal diffusivity and viscosity in corotation resonance. Over the whole mass range considered, IGW are found to be efficiently generated by the convective envelope and to slow down the stellar core early on the PMS. In stars more massive than ~ 1.6Msun, IGW produced by the convective core also contribute to angular momentum redistribution close to the ZAMS. Overall, IGW are found to significantly change the internal rotation profile of PMS low-mass stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (15 pages

The impact of metallicity on the evolution of the rotation and magnetic activity of Sun-like stars

This is the author accepted articleThe rotation rates and magnetic activity of Sun-like and low-mass (.1.4M) main-sequence stars are knownto decline with time, and there now exist several models for the evolution of rotation and activity. However,the role that chemical composition plays during stellar spin-down has not yet been explored. In this work,we use a structural evolution code to compute the rotational evolution of stars with three different masses (0.7, 1.0, and 1.3M) and six different metallicities, ranging from [Fe/H]=−1.0 to [Fe/H]= +0.5. We also implement three different wind-braking formulations from the literature (two modern and one classical) and compare their predictions for rotational evolution. The effect that metallicity has on stellar structural properties,and in particular the convective turnover timescale, leads the two modern wind-braking formulations to predict a strong dependence of the torque on metallicity. Consequently, they predict that metal rich stars spin-down more effectively at late ages (>1 Gyr) than metal poor stars, and the effect is large enough to be detectable with current observing facilities. For example, the formulations predict that a Sun-like (solar-mass and solar-aged) star with [Fe/H]=−0.3 will have a rotation period of less than 20 days. Even though old, metal poor stars are predicted to rotate more rapidly at a given age, they have larger Rossby numbers and are thus expected to have lower magnetic activity levels. Finally, the different wind-braking formulations predict quantitative differences in the metallicity-dependence of stellar rotation, which may be used to test themER

On the Origin of the Bimodal Rotational Velocity Distribution in Stellar Clusters: Rotation on the Pre-Main Sequence

We address the origin of the observed bimodal rotational distribution of stars in massive young and intermediate age stellar clusters. This bimodality is seen as split main sequences at young ages and also has been recently directly observed in the $Vsini$ distribution of stars within massive young and intermediate age clusters. Previous models have invoked binary interactions as the origin of this bimodality, although these models are unable to reproduce all of the observational constraints on the problem. Here we suggest that such a bimodal rotational distribution is set up early within a cluster's life, i.e., within the first few Myr. Observations show that the period distribution of low-mass (\la 2 M_\odot) pre-main sequence (PMS) stars is bimodal in many young open clusters and we present a series of models to show that if such a bimodality exists for stars on the PMS that it is expected to manifest as a bimodal rotational velocity (at fixed mass/luminosity) on the main sequence for stars with masses in excess of $\sim1.5$~\msun. Such a bimodal period distribution of PMS stars may be caused by whether stars have lost (rapid rotators) or been able to retain (slow rotators) their circumstellar discs throughout their PMS lifetimes. We conclude with a series of predictions for observables based on our model

Evidence for Metallicity-Dependant Spin Evolution in the Kepler field

This is the final version. Available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordData availability: The data underlying this paper are available in CDS.A curious rotation period distribution in the Color-Magnitude-Period Diagram (CMPD) of the Kepler field was recently revealed, thanks to data from Gaia and Kepler spacecraft. It was found that redder and brighter stars are spinning slower than the rest of the main sequence. On the theoretical side, it was demonstrated that metallicity should affect the rotational evolution of stars as well as their evolution in the Hertzprung-R\"ussel or Color-Magnitude diagram. In this work we combine this dataset with medium and high resolution spectroscopic metallicities and carefully select main sequence single stars in a given mass range. We show that the structure seen in the CMPD also corresponds to a broad correlation between metallicity and rotation, such that stars with higher metallicity rotate on average more slowly than those with low metallicity. We compare this sample to theoretical rotational evolution models that include a range of different metallicities. They predict a correlation between rotation rate and metallicity that is in the same direction and of about the same magnitude as that observed. Therefore metallicity appears to be a key parameter to explain the observed rotation period distributions. We also discuss a few different ways in which metallicity can affect the observed distribution of rotation period, due to observational biases and age distributions, as well as the effect on stellar wind torques.European Union Horizon 202

Photometric Variability as a Proxy for Magnetic Activity and Its Dependence on Metallicity

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available via the American Astronomical Society via the DOI in this record.Understanding how the magnetic activity of low-mass stars depends on their fundamental parameters is an important goal of stellar astrophysics. Previous studies have shown that activity levels are largely determined by the stellar Rossby number, defined as the rotation period divided by the convective turnover time. However, we currently have little information on the role played by chemical composition. In this work, we investigate how metallicity affects magnetic activity, using photometric variability as an activity proxy. Similarly to other proxies, we demonstrate that the amplitude of photometric variability is well parameterized by the Rossby number, although in a more complex way. We also show that variability amplitude and metallicity are generally positively correlated. This trend can be understood in terms of the effect of metallicity on stellar structure, and hence the convective turnover time (or, equivalently, the Rossby number). Lastly, we demonstrate that the metallicity dependence of photometric variability results in a rotation-period detection bias, whereby the periods of metal-rich stars are more easily recovered for stars of a given mass

The influence of the environment on the spin evolution of low-mass stars – I. External photoevaporation of circumstellar discs

This is the final version. Available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordData availability: All the data and Python codes developed as part of this study are available as part of the package Far-ultraviolet Irradiated Rotational Evolution model for low mass stars (FIREstars) that can be accessible via https://github.com/juliaroquette/FIREstars. The package includes jupyter-notebooks with research notes on the project, computational tools for calculating spin-evolution models and isogyrochrones, along with the code used for producing each plot in the paper.Massive stars are strong sources of far-ultraviolet radiation that can be hostile to the evolution of protoplanetary discs, driving mass-loss by external photoevaporation and shortening disc-dissipation time-scales. Their effect may also reduce the time-scale of angular momentum exchanges between the disc and host star during the early pre-main-sequence phase. To improve our understanding of the environmental influence on the rotational history of stars, we developed a model that considers the influence of the local far-ultraviolet radiation on the spin evolution of low mass stars. Our model includes an assumption of disc locking, which fixes the rotation rate during the star-disc-interaction phase, with the duration of this phase parametrized as a function of the local far-ultraviolet radiation and stellar mass (in the range of 0.1–1.3 M⊙). In this way, we demonstrate how the feedback from massive stars can significantly influence the spin evolution of stars and explain the mass dependence observed in period-mass distributions of young regions like Upper Sco and NGC 2264. The high far-ultraviolet environments of high-mass stars can skew the period distribution of surrounding stars towards fast-rotation, explaining the excess of fast-rotating stars in the open cluster h Per. The proposed link between rotation and the pre-main-sequence environment opens new avenues for interpreting the rotational distributions of young stars. For example, we suggest that stellar rotation may be used as a tracer for the primordial ultraviolet irradiation for stars up to ∼1 Gyr, which offers a potential method to connect mature planetary systems to their birth environment.European Union Horizon 2020Alexander von Humboldt Stiftun

On the origin of the bimodal rotational velocity distribution in stellar clusters: rotation on the pre-main sequence

This is the final version. Available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordWe address the origin of the observed bimodal rotational distribution of stars in massive young and intermediate age stellar clusters. This bimodality is seen as split main sequences at young ages and also has been recently directly observed in the Vsini distribution of stars within massive young and intermediate age clusters. Previous models have invoked binary interactions as the origin of this bimodality, although these models are unable to reproduce all of the observational constraints on the problem. Here, we suggest that such a bimodal rotational distribution is set-up early within a cluster’s life, i.e. within the first few Myr. Observations show that the period distribution of low-mass (⁠≲2M⊙⁠) pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars is bimodal in many young open clusters, and we present a series of models to show that if such a bimodality exists for stars on the PMS that it is expected to manifest as a bimodal rotational velocity (at fixed mass/luminosity) on the main sequence for stars with masses in excess of ∼1.5 M⊙. Such a bimodal period distribution of PMS stars may be caused by whether stars have lost (rapid rotators) or been able to retain (slow rotators) their circumstellar discs throughout their PMS lifetimes. We conclude with a series of predictions for observables based on our model.European Research Council (ERC)Swiss National Science Foundatio