Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264

Investigating the angular momentum evolution of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars provides important insight into the interactions between Sun-like stars and their protoplanetary disks, and the timescales that govern disk dissipation and planet formation. We present projected rotational velocities ( v s...

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Main Authors: Laurin M. Gray, Katherine L. Rhode, Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager, Tiffany Picard, Luisa M. Rebull
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad924b
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author Laurin M. Gray
Katherine L. Rhode
Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager
Tiffany Picard
Luisa M. Rebull
author_facet Laurin M. Gray
Katherine L. Rhode
Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager
Tiffany Picard
Luisa M. Rebull
author_sort Laurin M. Gray
collection DOAJ
description Investigating the angular momentum evolution of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars provides important insight into the interactions between Sun-like stars and their protoplanetary disks, and the timescales that govern disk dissipation and planet formation. We present projected rotational velocities ( v sin i values) of 254 T Tauri stars (TTSs) in the ∼3 Myr old open cluster NGC 2264, measured using high-dispersion spectra from the WIYN 3.5 m telescope’s Hydra instrument. We combine these with literature values of temperature, rotation period, luminosity, disk classification, and binarity. We find some evidence that weak-lined TTSs may rotate faster than their classical TTS counterparts and that stars in binary systems may rotate faster than single stars. We also combine our v sin i measurements with rotation period to estimate the projected stellar radii of our sample stars, and then use a maximum likelihood modeling technique to compare our radii estimates to predicted values from stellar evolution models. We find that starspot-free models tend to underestimate the radii of the PMS stars at the age of the cluster, while models that incorporate starspots are more successful. We also observe a mass dependence in the degree of radius inflation, which may be a result of differences in the birth-line location on the HR diagram. Our study of NGC 2264 serves as a pilot study for analysis methods to be applied to four other clusters ranging in age from 1−14 Myr, which is the timescale over which protoplanetary disks dissipate and planetary systems begin to form.
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spelling doaj-art-c52ac19614fd4eefb00d51177ec07bf62025-08-20T02:37:10ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01977227010.3847/1538-4357/ad924bRotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264Laurin M. Gray0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6389-5639Katherine L. Rhode1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8283-4591Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5924-3531Tiffany Picard3Luisa M. Rebull4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6381-515XDepartment of Astronomy, Indiana University , 727 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA ; grayla@iu.eduDepartment of Astronomy, Indiana University , 727 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA ; grayla@iu.eduDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Dickinson College , 28 N. College Street, Carlisle, PA 17013, USAAstronomy Department, Mount Holyoke College , 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075, USAInfrared Science Archive (IRSA), IPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAInvestigating the angular momentum evolution of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars provides important insight into the interactions between Sun-like stars and their protoplanetary disks, and the timescales that govern disk dissipation and planet formation. We present projected rotational velocities ( v sin i values) of 254 T Tauri stars (TTSs) in the ∼3 Myr old open cluster NGC 2264, measured using high-dispersion spectra from the WIYN 3.5 m telescope’s Hydra instrument. We combine these with literature values of temperature, rotation period, luminosity, disk classification, and binarity. We find some evidence that weak-lined TTSs may rotate faster than their classical TTS counterparts and that stars in binary systems may rotate faster than single stars. We also combine our v sin i measurements with rotation period to estimate the projected stellar radii of our sample stars, and then use a maximum likelihood modeling technique to compare our radii estimates to predicted values from stellar evolution models. We find that starspot-free models tend to underestimate the radii of the PMS stars at the age of the cluster, while models that incorporate starspots are more successful. We also observe a mass dependence in the degree of radius inflation, which may be a result of differences in the birth-line location on the HR diagram. Our study of NGC 2264 serves as a pilot study for analysis methods to be applied to four other clusters ranging in age from 1−14 Myr, which is the timescale over which protoplanetary disks dissipate and planetary systems begin to form.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad924bYoung stellar objectsPre-main sequence starsT Tauri starsClassical T Tauri starsWeak-line T Tauri starsStellar rotation
spellingShingle Laurin M. Gray
Katherine L. Rhode
Catrina M. Hamilton-Drager
Tiffany Picard
Luisa M. Rebull
Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
The Astrophysical Journal
Young stellar objects
Pre-main sequence stars
T Tauri stars
Classical T Tauri stars
Weak-line T Tauri stars
Stellar rotation
title Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
title_full Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
title_fullStr Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
title_full_unstemmed Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
title_short Rotational Velocities and Radii Estimates of Low-mass Pre-main-sequence Stars in NGC 2264
title_sort rotational velocities and radii estimates of low mass pre main sequence stars in ngc 2264
topic Young stellar objects
Pre-main sequence stars
T Tauri stars
Classical T Tauri stars
Weak-line T Tauri stars
Stellar rotation
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad924b
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