Journal Articles The Astrophysical Journal Year : 2012

Spin evolution of accreting young stars. II. Effect of accretion-powered stellar winds

Abstract

We present a model for the rotational evolution of a young, solar-mass star interacting magnetically with an accretion disk. As in a previous paper (Paper I), the model includes changes in the star's mass and radius as it descends the Hayashi track, a decreasing accretion rate, and a prescription for the angular momentum transfer between the star and disk. Paper I concluded that, for the relatively strong magnetic coupling expected in real systems, additional processes are necessary to explain the existence of slowly rotating pre-main-sequence stars. In the present paper, we extend the stellar spin model to include the effect of a spin-down torque that arises from an accretion-powered stellar wind (APSW). For a range of magnetic field strengths, accretion rates, initial spin rates, and mass outflow rates, the modeled stars exhibit rotation periods within the range of 1-10 days in the age range of 1-3 Myr. This range coincides with the bulk of the observed rotation periods, with the slow rotators corresponding to stars with the lowest accretion rates, strongest magnetic fields, and/or highest stellar wind mass outflow rates. We also make a direct, quantitative comparison between the APSW scenario and the two types of disk-locking models (namely, the X-wind and Ghosh & Lamb type models) and identify some remaining theoretical issues for understanding young star spins.
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Dates and versions

cea-00828163 , version 1 (17-09-2024)

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Sean P. Matt, Giovanni Pinzón, Thomas P. Greene, Ralph E. Pudritz. Spin evolution of accreting young stars. II. Effect of accretion-powered stellar winds. The Astrophysical Journal, 2012, 745, pp.101. ⟨10.1088/0004-637X/745/1/101⟩. ⟨cea-00828163⟩
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