Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-08-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astronomy and Astrophysics (2008) 0
Scientific paper
10.1051/0004-6361:200810574
Israelian et al. (2004) reported that exoplanet host stars are lithium depleted compared to solar-type stars without detected massive planets, a result recently confirmed by Gonzalez (2008). We investigate whether enhanced lithium depletion in exoplanet host stars may result from their rotational history. We have developed rotational evolution models for slow and fast solar-type rotators from the pre-main sequence (PMS) to the age of the Sun and compare them to the distribution of rotational periods observed for solar-type stars between 1 Myr and 5 Gyr. We show that slow rotators develop a high degree of differential rotation between the radiative core and the convective envelope, while fast rotators evolve with little core-envelope decoupling. We suggest that strong differential rotation at the base of the convective envelope is responsible for enhanced lithium depletion in slow rotators. We conclude that lithium-depleted exoplanet host stars were slow rotators on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) and argue that slow rotation results from a long lasting star-disk interaction during the PMS. Altogether, this suggests that long-lived disks (> 5 Myr) may be a necessary condition for massive planet formation/migration.
No associations
LandOfFree
Lithium depletion and the rotational history of exoplanet host stars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Lithium depletion and the rotational history of exoplanet host stars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lithium depletion and the rotational history of exoplanet host stars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-327459