Extended Main Sequences in Star Clusters

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Li, Chengyuan, Milone, Antonino P., Sun, Weijia, de Grijs, Richard
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Li, Chengyuan
Milone, Antonino P.
Sun, Weijia
de Grijs, Richard
author_facet Li, Chengyuan
Milone, Antonino P.
Sun, Weijia
de Grijs, Richard
contents Extended main sequences (eMSs) and extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTOs) are fascinating phenomena that are routinely observed in star clusters. These phenomena strongly challenge the current canonical "simple stellar population" picture of star clusters, which postulates that star clusters are coeval and chemically homogeneous and can thus be described by a single, unique isochrone. Detections of eMSs and eMSTOs provide valuable insights into stellar physics and the evolution of star clusters. This comprehensive review delves into the observational characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and astrophysical implications of the eMSs and eMSTOs observed in young (less than 600 million years) and intermediate-age (600 to 2000 million years) star clusters. Several scenarios or hypotheses have been proposed to explain these phenomena, including the presence of an age spread, binary interactions, variable stars, and differences in stellar rotation rates. This review discusses the advantages and limitations of current models. Among contemporary models and hypotheses, stellar rotation has been demonstrated as the most plausible mechanism to explain the occurrence of eMSs and eMSTOs. Research on stellar rotation and its connection to eMSs has opened up a myriad of fascinating avenues, such as investigations of the magnetic braking mechanism in stars, searches for tidally locked binary systems in star clusters, and investigations as to whether binary mergers can give rise to massive magnetars. These endeavors have yielded valuable insights and significantly enriched our understanding of stellar astrophysics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2401_08062
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Extended Main Sequences in Star Clusters
Li, Chengyuan
Milone, Antonino P.
Sun, Weijia
de Grijs, Richard
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Extended main sequences (eMSs) and extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTOs) are fascinating phenomena that are routinely observed in star clusters. These phenomena strongly challenge the current canonical "simple stellar population" picture of star clusters, which postulates that star clusters are coeval and chemically homogeneous and can thus be described by a single, unique isochrone. Detections of eMSs and eMSTOs provide valuable insights into stellar physics and the evolution of star clusters. This comprehensive review delves into the observational characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and astrophysical implications of the eMSs and eMSTOs observed in young (less than 600 million years) and intermediate-age (600 to 2000 million years) star clusters. Several scenarios or hypotheses have been proposed to explain these phenomena, including the presence of an age spread, binary interactions, variable stars, and differences in stellar rotation rates. This review discusses the advantages and limitations of current models. Among contemporary models and hypotheses, stellar rotation has been demonstrated as the most plausible mechanism to explain the occurrence of eMSs and eMSTOs. Research on stellar rotation and its connection to eMSs has opened up a myriad of fascinating avenues, such as investigations of the magnetic braking mechanism in stars, searches for tidally locked binary systems in star clusters, and investigations as to whether binary mergers can give rise to massive magnetars. These endeavors have yielded valuable insights and significantly enriched our understanding of stellar astrophysics.
title Extended Main Sequences in Star Clusters
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.08062