Stellar Rotation in the K2 Sample: Evidence for Modified Spindown

Abstract

We analyze light curves of 284,834 unique K2 targets using a Gaussian process model with a quasi-periodic kernel function. By crossmatching K2 stars to observations from Gaia Data Release 2, we have identified 69,627 likely main-sequence stars. From these we select a subsample of 8,977 stars on the main-sequence with highly precise rotation period measurements. With this sample we recover the gap in the rotation period-color diagram first reported by \cite{McQuillan2013}. While the gap was tentatively detected in \cite{Reinhold2020}, this work represents the first robust detection of the gap in K2 data for field stars. This is significant because K2 observed along many lines of sight at wide angular separation, in contrast to Kepler's single line of sight. Together with recent results for rotation in open clusters, we interpret this gap as evidence for a departure from the $t^{-1/2}$ Skumanich spin down law, rather than an indication of a bimodal star formation history. We provide maximum likelihood estimates and uncertainties for all parameters of the quasi-periodic light curve model for each of the 284,834 stars in our sample.

arXiv comment17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to ApJ, revised April 1, 2020

References in corpus (45)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• Astropy: A Community Python Package for Astronomy
• scikit-image: Image processing in Python
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA)
• Binary companions of evolved stars in APOGEE DR14: Search method and catalog of ~5,000 companions
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Giant Planets, Oscillations, Rotation, and Massive Stars
• Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA): Binaries, Pulsations, and Explosions
• MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST). I: Solar-Scaled Models
• MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) 0: Methods for the construction of stellar isochrones
• Rotation Periods of 34,030 Kepler Main-Sequence Stars: The Full Autocorrelation Sample
• Modeling the Time Variability of SDSS Stripe 82 Quasars as a Damped Random Walk
• On the rotational evolution of solar- and late-type stars, its magnetic origins, and the possibility of stellar gyrochronology
• Large-scale magnetic topologies of late M dwarfs
• Measuring the rotation period distribution of field M-dwarfs with Kepler
• Gaia Data Release 2: Mapping the Milky Way disc kinematics
• Rotation and differential rotation of active Kepler stars
• Improved angular momentum evolution model for solar-like stars
• The rotation and Galactic kinematics of mid M dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood
• Rotation periods of 12 000 main-sequence Kepler stars: Dependence on stellar spectral type and comparison with v sin i observations
• The Kepler Cluster Study: Stellar Rotation in NGC6811
• Inferring probabilistic stellar rotation periods using Gaussian processes
• Rotation in the Pleiades with K2: I. Data and First Results
• Lithium depletion and the rotational history of exoplanet host stars
• When Do Stalled Stars Resume Spinning Down? Advancing Gyrochronology with Ruprecht 147
• Rotation of Low-Mass Stars in Upper Scorpius and Rho Ophiuchus with K2
• K2 rotation periods for low-mass Hyads and a quantitative comparison of the distribution of slow rotators in the Hyades and Praesepe
• A Temporary Epoch of Stalled Spin-Down for Low-Mass Stars: Insights from NGC 6811 with Gaia and Kepler
• The Revolution Revolution: magnetic morphology driven spin-down
• Angular Momentum Transport In Solar-Type Stars: Testing the Timescale For Core-Envelope Coupling
• Poking the Beehive From Space: K2 Rotation Periods For Praesepe
• An update to the EVEREST K2 pipeline: Short cadence, saturated stars, and Kepler-like photometry down to Kp = 15
• On the competing effect of wind braking and interior coupling in the rotational evolution of solar-like stars
• Large eccentricity, low mutual inclination: the three-dimensional architecture of a hierarchical system of giant planets
• Stellar rotation periods from K2 Campaigns 0-18 -- Evidence for rotation period bimodality and simultaneous variability decrease
• Forward Modeling of the Kepler Stellar Rotation Period Distribution: Interpreting Periods from Mixed and Biased Stellar Populations
• Radial Velocity Observations and Light Curve Noise Modeling Confirm That Kepler-91b is a Giant Planet Orbiting a Giant Star
• A New Look at an Old Cluster: The Membership, Rotation, and Magnetic Activity of Low-Mass Stars in the 1.3-Gyr-Old Open Cluster NGC 752
• Rotational evolution of slow-rotators sequence stars
• Precise photometric transit follow-up observations of five close-in exoplanets : update on their physical properties
• Evidence for Metallicity-Dependant Spin Evolution in the Kepler field
• Exploring the evolution of stellar rotation using Galactic kinematics
• Rotating Stars from Kepler Observed with Gaia DR1
• Lithium depletion is a strong test of core-envelope recoupling
• Rotating Stars from Kepler Observed with Gaia DR2
• Rotation periods for cool stars in the open cluster Ruprecht 147 (NGC 6774): Implications for gyrochronology

Cited by in corpus (29)

• Surface rotation and photometric activity for Kepler targets. II. G and F main-sequence stars, and cool subgiant stars
• A 4 Gyr M-dwarf Gyrochrone from CFHT/MegaPrime Monitoring of the Open Cluster M67
• Bridging the gap -- the disappearance of the intermediate period gap for fully convective stars, uncovered by new ZTF rotation periods
• A calibration of the Rossby number from asteroseismology
• Three K2 Campaigns Yield Rotation Periods for 1013 Stars in Praesepe
• Untangling the Galaxy. IV. Empirical Constraints on Angular Momentum Evolution and Gyrochronology for Young Stars in the Field
• Detections of solar-like oscillations in dwarfs and subgiants with Kepler DR25 short-cadence data
• Stellar Rotation and Structure of the $\alpha$ Persei Complex: When Does Gyrochronology Start to Work?
• Temporal variation of the photometric magnetic activity for the Sun and Kepler solar-like stars
• Inferring the Rotation Period Distribution of Stars from their Projected Rotation Velocities and Radii: Application to late-F/early-G Kepler Stars
• Kepler meets Gaia DR3: homogeneous extinction-corrected color-magnitude diagram and binary classification
• Statistics of BY Draconis Chromospheric Variable Stars
• Exploring the stellar rotation of early-type stars in the LAMOST Medium-Resolution Survey. II. Statistics
• Multi-campaign Asteroseismic Analysis of eight Solar-like pulsating stars observed by the K2 mission
• Stellar spectral-type (mass) dependence of the dearth of close-in planets around fast-rotating stars. Architecture of Kepler confirmed single-exoplanet systems compared to star-planet evolution models
• Kepler main-sequence solar-like stars: surface rotation and magnetic-activity evolution
• Periodic stellar variability from almost a million NGTS light curves
• The breakdown of current gyrochronology as evidenced by old coeval stars
• ATREIDES I. Embarking on a trek across the exo-Neptunian landscape with the TOI-421 system
• A dearth of close-in planets around rapidly rotating stars or a dearth of data?
• Signature of spin-down stalling in stellar magnetic activity. The case of the open cluster NGC 6811
• Photometric activity cycles in fast-rotating stars: Revisiting the reality of stellar activity cycle branches
• Brightness Fluctuation Spectra of Sun-Like Stars. I. The Mid-Frequency Continuum
• Unravelling the Period Gap using LAMOST Chromospheric Activity Indices
• The emptiness inside: Finding gaps, valleys, and lacunae with geometric data analysis
• On the behaviour of spin-orbit connection of exoplanets
• 200,000+ Deep Learning-inferred Periods of Stellar Variability from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae
• Breaking gyrochronology through the collapse of coronal winds
• Rotation of young solar-type stars as seen by Gaia and K2