Stellar rotation bifurcation caused by tidal locking in the open cluster NGC 2287?

Weijia Sun*, Chengyuan Li, Licai Deng, Richard De Grijs

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of the projected stellar rotational velocities of the well-separated double main sequence (MS) in the young, ∼200 Myr-old Milky Way open cluster NGC 2287 and suggest that stellar rotation may drive the split MSs in NGC 2287. We find that the observed distribution of projected stellar rotation velocities could result from a dichotomous distribution of stellar rotation rates. We discuss whether our observations may reflect the effects of tidal locking affecting a fraction of the cluster's member stars in stellar binary systems. The slow rotators are likely stars that initially rotated rapidly but subsequently slowed down through tidal locking induced by low-mass-ratio binary systems. However, the cluster may have a much larger population of short-period binaries than is usually seen in the literature, with relatively low secondary masses.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationStar clusters: from the Milky Way to the early universe
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 351st symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Bologna, Italy, 27-31 May 2019
EditorsAngela Bragaglia, Melvyn Davies, Alison Sills, Enrico Vesperini
Place of PublicationCambridge
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP)
Pages228-232
Number of pages5
ISBN (Print)9781108482509
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Mar 2020
Event351st symposium of the International Astronomical Union - Bologna, Italy
Duration: 27 May 201931 May 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
PublisherCambridge University Press
NumberS351
Volume14
ISSN (Print)1743-9213

Conference

Conference351st symposium of the International Astronomical Union
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityBologna
Period27/05/1931/05/19

Keywords

  • galaxies: star clusters: general
  • open clusters and associations: individual: NGC 2287
  • stars: rotation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Stellar rotation bifurcation caused by tidal locking in the open cluster NGC 2287?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this