Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jul 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aj....138...28a&link_type=abstract
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 138, Issue 1, pp. 28-32 (2009).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
5
Binaries: Spectroscopic, Stars: Chemically Peculiar, Stars: Evolution
Scientific paper
I wondered why there are still slowly rotating (V < 120 km s-1) normal A0-A9 field stars when such stars should have become Ap or Am stars by a diffusion mechanism. My first guess was that this was related to an unusually high binary frequency, but the frequency turned out to be normal, as shown in a paper in preparation. Next, I wondered whether all the slow rotators have had enough time to become Ap or Am stars. That process is rapid for Ap(Si), Ap(HgMn), and Am stars, but slow for Ap(SrCrEu) stars. For Ap(SrCrEu) stars, it takes about half of their main-sequence lifetime to show their abnormality. Under the assumption of a constant formation rate of field A stars, about half of the eventual Ap(SrCrEu) will appear as normal slow rotators. That is why there are still normal slow rotators in A0-A3. That is the main conclusion of this study. I discuss recent doubts about the length of time it takes to form an Ap(SrCr) star and found that the doubts are inappropriate. For the A4-F0 stars, I confirm that all the stars in binaries with orbital periods of 2-10 days became Am stars because their rotational velocities have been reduced by tidal interactions below V = 120 km s-1, a requirement for diffusion to act. It is also confirmed that all the normal stars in binaries have orbital periods above ~100 days because the tidal interactions in such binaries are inadequate to bring the rotational velocities below 120 km s-1. However, both Am and normal stars occur in binaries with orbital periods between 10 and 100 days, and at present we do not know why.
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