Investigating the rotational evolution of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in young clusters

Investigating the rotational evolution of very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in young clusters using Monte Carlo simulations

Authors:

Vasconcelos et al

Abstract:

Context.

Very low-mass (VLM) stars and brown dwarfs (BDs) present a different rotational behaviour from their solar mass counter-parts. Aims. We investigate the rotational evolution of young VLM stars and BDs using Monte Carlo simulations under the hypothesis of disk locking and stellar angular momentum conservation.

Methods.

We built a set of objects with masses ranging from 0.01 Mo to 0.4 Mo and considered models with single- and double- peaked initial period distributions with and without disk locking. An object is considered to be diskless when its mass accretion rate is below a given threshold.

Results.

Models with initial single-peaked period distributions reproduce the observations well given that BDs rotate faster than VLM stars. We observe a correlation between rotational period and mass when we relax the disk locking hypothesis, but with a shallower slope compared to some observational results. The angular momentum evolution of diskless stars is flatter than it is for stars with a disk which occurs because the moment of inertia of objects less massive than 0.2 Mo remains pratically constant for a time scale that increases with decreasing stellar mass.

Conclusions.

Comparing our results with the available observational data we see that disk locking is not as important in the low-mass regime and that the rotational behaviour of VLM stars and BDs is different from what is seen in their solar mass counterparts.

The rotation of brown dwarfs

The rotation of brown dwarfs

Author:

Scholz

Abstract:

One of the characteristic features of low-mass stars is their propensity to shed large amounts of angular momentum throughout their evolution. This distinguishs them from brown dwarfs which remain fast rotators over timescales of gigayears. Brown dwarfs with rotation periods longer than a couple of days have only been found in star forming regions and young clusters. This is a useful constraint on the mass dependency of mechanisms for angular momentum regular in stars. Rotational braking by disks and winds become highly inefficient in the substellar regime. In this short review I discuss the observational evidence for the fast rotation in brown dwarfs, the implications, and the link to the spin-mass relation in planets.

Impacts of stellar evolution and dynamics on the habitable zone

Impacts of stellar evolution and dynamics on the habitable zone: The role of rotation and magnetic activity

Authors:

Gallet et al

Abstract:

In this article, we aim to provide the community with the dependence of the habitable zone upon the stellar mass, metallicity, rotation, and for various prescriptions of the limits of the habitable zone. We use the STAREVOL code to study the evolution of the habitable zone and of the continuously habitable zone limits. Mass and metallicity are the stellar parameters that have the most dramatic effects on the habitable zone limits. Conversely, for a given stellar mass and metallicity, stellar rotation has only a marginal effect on these limits and does not modify the width of the habitable zone. The evolution of the habitable zone limits is also correlated to the evolution of the stellar activity (through the Rossby number) that depends on the stellar mass considered. While the magnetic activity has negligible consequence in the case of more massive stars, these effects may have a strong impact on the habitability of a planet around M dwarf stars. Thus, stellar activity cannot be neglected and may have strong impacts on the development of life during the early stage of the continuously habitable zone phase of low-mass stars. Using observed trends of stellar magnetic field strength we also constrain the planetary magnetic field (at the zero order) required for a sufficient magnetospheric protection during the whole stellar evolution. We explicit for the first time the systematic dependence of planet habitability on stellar parameters along the full evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars. These results can be used as physical inputs for a first order estimation of exoplanetary habitability.

Are intermediate range periodicities in sunspot area associated with planetary motion?

Are intermediate range periodicities in sunspot area associated with planetary motion?

Author:

Edmonds

Abstract:

Rieger quasi-periodicities have been reported numerous times. However, no accepted explanation of the quasi-periodicities has emerged. We examine the possibility that the some of the reported periodicities are associated with a Mercury to Sun interaction of base period 88 days. To test this idea we filter the daily sunspot area record with band pass filters centred on the 88 day period and 176 day sub harmonic period of Mercury. We observed that the time variation of the amplitude of the components was comprised of episodes that varied in duration from 1.5 to 4 years, with successive episodes usually overlapping in time but, for significant intervals in the record, the episodes were discrete, i.e. not overlapping. The time variation of the filtered components was compared with the time variation of the tidal effect of Mercury. We were able to show that when episodes were discrete the time variation of the component of sunspot area during the episode was either in-phase or in anti-phase with the tidal effect. We interpret this result as an indication of a connection between planetary motion and sunspot emergence. When several discrete episodes of the 88 day or the 176 day period components occurred during a solar cycle the spectrum of sunspot area exhibited periodicities at sidebands to the 88 day or 176 day periods with the periodicity of the sidebands dependent on the duration of the episodes. A model based on amplitude modulation of 88 day and 176 day period sinusoids was able to consistently reproduce periodicities observed in the spectra of sunspot area. It is proposed that the observed connection between planetary motion and sunspot emergence involves magnetic Rossby waves with mode periods close to the sub harmonic periods associated with Mercury and the triggering of sunspot emergence by those Rossby waves.

The Correlation Between Host Star Rotation and Exoplanet Orbits

Star-planet interactions: I. Stellar rotation and planetary orbits

Authors:

Privitera et al

Abstract:

Context.

As a star evolves, the planet orbits change with time due to tidal interactions, stellar mass losses, friction and gravitational drag forces, mass accretion and evaporation on/by the planet. Stellar rotation modifies the structure of the star and therefore the way these different processes occur. Changes of the orbits, at their turn, have an impact on the rotation of the star.

Aims.

Models accounting in a consistent way for these interactions between the orbital evolution of the planet and the evolution of the rotation of the star are still missing. The present work is a first attempt to fill this gap.

Methods.

We compute the evolution of stellar models including a comprehensive treatment of rotational effects together with the evolution of planetary orbits, so that the exchanges of angular momentum between the star and the planetary orbit are treated in a self-consistent way. The evolution of the rotation of the star accounts for the angular momentum exchange with the planet and also follows the effects of the internal transport of angular momentum and chemicals.

Results.

We show that rotating stellar models without tidal interactions can well reproduce the surface rotations of the bulk of the red giants. However, models without any interactions cannot account for fast rotating red giants in the upper part of the red giant branch, where, such models, whatever the initial rotation considered on the ZAMS, always predict very low velocities. For those stars some interaction with a companion is highly probable and the present rotating stellar models with planets confirm that tidal interaction can reproduce their high surface velocities. We show also that the minimum distance between the planet and the star on the ZAMS that will allow the planet to avoid engulfment and survive is decreased around faster rotating stars.

How Difficult is it to Detect Habitable Planets Around M Dwarfs?

The Impact of Stellar Rotation on the Detectability of Habitable Planets Around M Dwarfs

Authors:

Newton et al

Abstract:

Stellar activity and rotation frustrate the detection of exoplanets through the radial velocity technique. This effect is particularly of concern for M dwarfs, which can remain magnetically active for billions of years. We compile rotation periods for late-type stars and for the M dwarf planet-host sample in order to investigate the rotation periods of older field stars across the main sequence. We show that for stars with masses between 0.25 and 0.5 solar masses (M4V to M1V), the stellar rotation period typical of field stars coincides with the orbital periods of planets in the habitable zone. This will pose a fundamental challenge to the discovery and characterization of potentially habitable planets around early M dwarfs. Due to the longer rotation periods reached by mid M dwarfs and the shorter orbital period at which the planetary habitable zone is found, stars with masses between 0.1 and 0.25 solar masses (M6V to M4V) offer better opportunities for the detection of habitable planets via radial velocities.

The Host Stars of Keplers Habitable Exoplanets: Superflares, Rotation and Activity

The Host Stars of Keplers Habitable Exoplanets: Superflares, Rotation and Activity

Authors:

Armstrong et al

Abstract:

We embark on a detailed study of the lightcurves of Keplers most Earth-like exoplanet host stars using the full length of Kepler data. We derive rotation periods, photometric activity indices, flaring energies, mass loss rates, gyrochronological ages, X-ray luminosities and consider implications for the planetary magnetospheres and habitability. Furthermore, we present the detection of superflares in the lightcurve of Kepler-438, the exoplanet with the highest Earth Similarity Index to date. Kepler-438b orbits at a distance of 0.166AU to its host star, and hence may be susceptible to atmospheric stripping. Our sample is taken from the Habitable Exoplanet Catalogue, and consists of the stars Kepler-22, Kepler-61, Kepler-62, Kepler-174, Kepler-186, Kepler-283, Kepler-296, Kepler-298, Kepler-438, Kepler-440, Kepler-442, Kepler-443 and KOI-4427, between them hosting 15 of the most habitable transiting planets known to date from Kepler.

Rotation Period Distribution of CoRoT⋆ and Kepler Sun-like stars

Rotation period distribution of CoRoT⋆ and Kepler Sun-like stars

Authors:

Leão et al

Abstract:

Aims.

We study the distribution of the photometric rotation period (Prot), which is a direct measurement of the surface rotation at active latitudes, for three subsamples of Sun-like stars: one from CoRoT data and two from Kepler data. For this purpose, we identify the main populations of these samples and interpret their main biases specifically for a comparison with the solar Prot.

Methods.

Prot and variability amplitude (A) measurements were obtained from public CoRoT and Kepler catalogs, which were combined with public data of physical parameters. Because these samples are subject to selection effects, we computed synthetic samples with simulated biases to compare with observations, particularly around the location of the Sun in the Hertzsprung-Russel (HR) diagram. Publicly available theoretical grids and empirical relations were used to combine physical parameters with Prot and A. Biases were simulated by performing cutoffs on the physical and rotational parameters in the same way as in each observed sample. A crucial cutoff is related with the detectability of the rotational modulation, which strongly depends on A.

Results.

The synthetic samples explain the observed Prot distributions of Sun-like stars as having two main populations: one of young objects (group I, with ages younger than ~1 Gyr) and another of main-sequence and evolved stars (group II, with ages older than ~1 Gyr). The proportions of groups I and II in relation to the total number of stars range within 64–84% and 16–36%, respectively. Hence, young objects abound in the distributions, producing the effect of observing a high number of short periods around the location of the Sun in the HR diagram. Differences in the Prot distributions between the CoRoT and Kepler Sun-like samples may be associated with different Galactic populations. Overall, the synthetic distribution around the solar period agrees with observations, which suggests that the solar rotation is normal with respect to Sun-like stars within the accuracy of current data.

On the Rotation Period Distribution of CoRoT and Kepler Sun-like stars

On the rotation period distribution of CoRoT and Kepler Sun-like stars

Authors:

Leao et al

Abstract:

We study the distribution of the photometric rotation period (Prot), which is a direct measurement of the surface rotation at active latitudes, for three subsamples of Sun-like stars: one from CoRoT data and two from Kepler data. We identify the main populations of these samples and interpret their main biases particularly for a comparison with the solar Prot. Prot and variability amplitude (A) measurements were obtained from public CoRoT and Kepler catalogs, which were combined with public data of physical parameters. Because these samples are subject to selection effects, we computed synthetic samples with simulated biases to compare with observations, particularly around the Sun's HR-diagram location. Theoretical grids and empirical relations were used to combine physical parameters with Prot and A. Biases were simulated by performing cutoffs on the physical and rotational parameters in the same way as in each observed sample. A crucial cutoff is related with the detectability of the rotational modulation, which strongly depends on A. The synthetic samples explain the observed Prot distributions of Sun-like stars as having two main populations: one of young objects (group I, with ages below ~1 Gyr) and another of main-sequence and evolved stars (group II, with ages above ~1 Gyr). The proportions of groups I and II in relation to the total number of stars range within 64-84% and 16-36%, respectively. Hence, young objects abound in the distributions, producing the effect of observing a high number of short periods around the Sun's HR-diagram location. Differences in the Prot distributions between the CoRoT and Kepler Sun-like samples may be associated with different Galactic populations. Overall, the synthetic distribution around the solar period agrees with observations, which suggests that the solar rotation is normal with respect to Sun-like stars within the current data accuracy.

Rotation, differential rotation, and gyrochronology of active Kepler stars

Rotation, differential rotation, and gyrochronology of active Kepler stars

Authors:

Reinhold et al

Abstract:

The high-precision photometry from the CoRoT and Kepler satellites has led to measurements of surface rotation periods for tens of thousands of stars. Our main goal is to derive ages of thousands of field stars using consistent rotation period measurements in different gyrochronology relations. Multiple rotation periods are interpreted as surface differential rotation (DR). We re-analyze the sample of 24,124 Kepler stars from Reinhold et al. (2013) using different approaches based on the Lomb-Scargle periodogram. Each quarter (Q1-Q14) is treated individually using a prewhitening approach. Additionally, the full time series, and different segments thereof are analyzed. For more than 18,500 stars our results are consistent with the rotation periods from McQuillan et al. (2014). Thereof, more than 12,300 stars show multiple significant peaks, which we interpret as DR. Gyrochronology ages between 100 Myr and 10 Gyr were derived for more than 17,000 stars using different gyrochronology relations. We find a bimodal age distribution for Teff between 3200-4700 K. The derived ages reveal an empirical activity-age relation using photometric variability as stellar activity proxy. Additionally, we found 1079 stars with extremely stable (mostly short) periods. Half of these periods may be associated with rotation stabilized by non-eclipsing companions, the other half might be due to pulsations. The derived gyrochronology ages are well constrained since more than 93.0 % of the stars seem to be younger than the Sun where calibration is most reliable. Explaining the bimodality in the age distribution is challenging, and limits accurate stellar age predictions. The existence of cool stars with almost constant rotation period over more than three years of observation might be explained by synchronization with stellar companions, or a dynamo mechanism keeping the spot configurations extremely stable.

How Fast do Young Brown Dwarfs Rotate?

Rotation Periods of Young Brown Dwarfs: K2 Survey in Upper Scorpius

Authors:

Scholz et al

Abstract:

We report rotational periods for 16 young brown dwarfs in the nearby Upper Scorpius association, based on 72 days of high-cadence, high-precision photometry from the Kepler space telescope's K2 mission. The periods range from a few hours to two days (plus one outlier at 5 days), with a median just above one day, confirming that brown dwarfs, except at the very youngest ages, are fast rotators. Interestingly, four of the slowest rotators in our sample exhibit mid-infrared excess emission from disks; at least two also show signs of disk eclipses and accretion in the lightcurves. Comparing these new periods with those for two other young clusters and simple angular momentum evolution tracks, we find little or no rotational braking in brown dwarfs between 1-10 Myr, in contrast to low-mass stars. Our findings show that disk braking, while still at work, is inefficient in the substellar regime, thus provide an important constraint on the mass dependence of the braking mechanism.

Stars Hosting Exoplanets Rotated More Slowly

Parent Stars of Extrasolar Planets. XV. Host Star Rotation Revisited with {\it Kepler} Data

Authors:

Gonzalez et al

Abstract:

We employed published rotation periods of {\it Kepler} field stars to test whether stars hosting planets tend to rotate more slowly than stars without known planets. Spectroscopic vsini observations of nearby stars with planets have indicated that they tend to have smaller visni values. We employ data for {\it Kepler} Objects of Interest (KOIs) from the first 16 quarters of its original mission; stellar parameters are based on the analysis of the first 17 quarters. We confirm that KOI stars rotate more slowly with much greater confidence than we had previously found for nearby stars with planets. Furthermore, we find that stars with planets of all types rotate more slowly, not just stars with giant planets.

Testing the Recovery of Stellar Rotation Signals From Kepler Light Curves

Testing the recovery of stellar rotation signals from Kepler light curves using a blind hare-and-hounds exercise

Authors:

Aigrain et al

Abstract:

We present the results of a blind exercise to test the recoverability of stellar rotation and differential rotation in Kepler light curves. The simulated light curves lasted 1000 days and included activity cycles, Sun-like butterfly patterns, differential rotation and spot evolution. The range of rotation periods, activity levels and spot lifetime were chosen to be representative of the Kepler data of solar like stars. Of the 1000 simulated light curves, 770 were injected into actual quiescent Kepler light curves to simulate Kepler noise. The test also included five 1000-day segments of the Sun's total irradiance variations at different points in the Sun's activity cycle.

Five teams took part in the blind exercise, plus two teams who participated after the content of the light curves had been released. The methods used included Lomb-Scargle periodograms and variants thereof, auto-correlation function, and wavelet-based analyses, plus spot modelling to search for differential rotation. The results show that the `overall' period is well recovered for stars exhibiting low and moderate activity levels. Most teams reported values within 10% of the true value in 70% of the cases. There was, however, little correlation between the reported and simulated values of the differential rotation shear, suggesting that differential rotation studies based on full-disk light curves alone need to be treated with caution, at least for solar-type stars.

The simulated light curves and associated parameters are available online for the community to test their own methods.

16 Cygni Reexamined

Asteroseismic inference on rotation, gyrochronology and planetary system dynamics of 16 Cygni

Authors:

Davies et al

Abstract:

The solar analogs 16 Cyg A and 16 Cyg B are excellent asteroseismic targets in the \Kepler field of view and together with a red dwarf and a Jovian planet form an interesting system. For these more evolved Sun-like stars we cannot detect surface rotation with the current \Kepler data but instead use the technique of asteroseimology to determine rotational properties of both 16 Cyg A and B. We find the rotation periods to be 23.8+1.5−1.8days and 23.2+11.5−3.2days, and the angles of inclination to be 56+6−5∘ and 36+17−7∘, for A and B respectively. Together with these results we use the published mass and age to suggest that, under the assumption of a solar-like rotation profile, 16 Cyg A could be used when calibrating gyrochronology relations. In addition, we discuss the known 16 Cyg B star-planet eccentricity and measured low obliquity which is consistent with Kozai cycling and tidal theory.