Accretion discs as regulators of stellar angular momentum evolution in the ONC and Taurus-Auriga

Abstract

In light of recent substantial updates to spectral type estimations and newly established intrinsic colours, effective temperatures, and bolometric corrections for pre-main sequence (PMS) stars, we re-address the theory of accretion-disc regulated stellar angular momentum (AM) evolution. We report on the compilation of a consistent sample of fully convective stars within two of the most well-studied and youngest, nearby regions of star formation: the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) and Taurus-Auriga. We calculate the average specific stellar AM ($j_{\star }$) assuming solid body rotation, using surface rotation periods gathered from the literature and new estimates of stellar radii and ages. We use published Spitzer IRAC fluxes to classify our stars as Class II or Class III and compare their $j_{\star }$ evolution. Our results suggest that disc dispersal is a rapid process that occurs at a variety of ages. We find a consistent $j_{\star }$ reduction rate between the Class II and Class III PMS stars which we interpret as indicating a period of accretion disc-regulated AM evolution followed by near-constant AM evolution once the disc has dissipated. Furthermore, assuming our observed spread in stellar ages is real, we find the removal rate of $j_{\star }$ during the Class II phase is more rapid than expected by contraction at constant stellar rotation rate. A much more efficient process of AM removal must exist, most likely in the form of an accretion-driven stellar wind or other outflow from the star-disc interaction region or extended disc surface.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS on 23rd July 2014, 22 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables

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• SPIRou: nIR velocimetry & spectropolarimetry at the CFHT
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• Gaia EDR3 Reveals the Substructure and Complicated Star Formation History of the Greater Taurus-Auriga Star Forming Complex
• A hot Jupiter around the very active weak-line T Tauri star TAP 26
• A Tale of Three Cities: OmegaCAM discovers multiple sequences in the color-magnitude diagram of the Orion Nebula Cluster
• Rotation Periods, Inclinations, and Obliquities of Cool Stars Hosting Directly Imaged Substellar Companions: Spin-Orbit Misalignments are Common
• Star-disc (mis-)alignment in Rho Oph and Upper Sco: insights from spatially resolved disc systems with K2 rotation periods
• Magnetic topologies of young suns: The weak-line T Tauri stars TWA 6 and TWA 8A
• Investigating the rotational evolution of young, low mass stars using Monte Carlo simulations
• The dipper population of Taurus seen with K2
• Dusty disk winds at the sublimation rim of the highly inclined, low mass YSO SU Aurigae
• Magnetic activity and radial velocity filtering of young Suns: The weak-line T Tauri stars Par 1379 and Par 2244
• Scattering and sublimation: a multi-scale view of $\mu$m-sized dust in the inclined disc of HD 145718