Stellar Rotation: A Clue to the Origin of High Mass Stars?
| dc.creator | Wolff, S. C. | |
| dc.creator | Strom, S. E. | |
| dc.creator | Dror, D. | |
| dc.creator | Lanz, L. | |
| dc.creator | Venn, K. | |
| dc.date | 2006-04-25 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T11:25:32Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T11:25:32Z | |
| dc.description | We present the results of a study aimed at assessing whether low and high mass stars form similarly. Our approach is (1) to examine the observed projected rotational velocities among a large sample of newly-formed stars spanning a range in mass between 0.2 and 50 M ; and (2) to search for evidence of a discontinuity in rotational properties that might indicate a difference in the stellar formation process at some characteristic mass. Our database includes both recently published values of v sin i for young intermediate- and low- mass stars in Orion, as well as new observations of O stars located in young clusters and OB associations. We find that the median of the quantity v_obs/v_c (observed rotational speed/equatorial breakup velocity) is typically about 0.15 and shows no evidence of a discontinuity over the full range of stellar masses, while the quantity Jsini/M (derived angular momentum per unit mass) exhibits a slow, monotonic rise with increasing mass with no evidence of a discontinuity. We suggest that these observations are most simply interpreted as indicative of a single stellar formation and angular momentum regulation mechanism: one that results in rotation rates well below breakup, and angular momenta per unit mass that differ systematically by no more than a factor of 3-4 over a mass range spanning a factor of 250. | |
| dc.description | 19 pages, two tables, 2 figures | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0604533 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0604533 | |
| dc.identifier | Astron.J.132:749-755,2006 | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1086/505534 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/195538 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | Stellar Rotation: A Clue to the Origin of High Mass Stars? | |
| dc.type | text |