Testing the Disk Regulation Paradigm with Spitzer Observations: Low-Mass Stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

Using Spitzer data, we have recently shown an unambiguous correlation between pre-main sequence (PMS) star rotation periods and the presence of a circumstellar disk for stars with spectral type M2 and earlier in the young Orion Nebula Cluster and NGC 2264, providing clear evidence that star-disk interaction regulates PMS star angular momentum as they evolve onto the main sequence. However, previous IRAC data for these clusters were too shallow to study stars later than M2, a group which represents half the population of stars with known rotation periods and a fundamentally different regime from the higher mass stars. There is a sharp break in the behavior of the rotation period distributions at spectral type M2.5, suggesting a significant change in the efficiency or nature of the disk-regulation mechanism at this boundary. Subject to the timely availability of deep Spitzer Cycle-5 data, we will present preliminary results extending our study to a statistically significant sample of NGC 2264 stars with M3 and later spectral types. This will allow us to establish whether or not a disk-regulation mechanism is operating on very low-mass stars. Whatever the answer turns out to be, it will have very important implications for the fields of angular momentum evolution of PMS stars, disk evolution, and/or stellar structure.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Testing the Disk Regulation Paradigm with Spitzer Observations: Low-Mass 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 Testing the Disk Regulation Paradigm with Spitzer Observations: Low-Mass Stars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Testing the Disk Regulation Paradigm with Spitzer Observations: Low-Mass Stars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1701867

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.