Uncovering the Origin of Slow Rotators among Intermediate-Mass Stars in the Star-Forming Cluster Trumpler 14
Abstract
Intermediate-mass (about 1.5-8 M⊙) stars exhibit a wide range of rotation rates and have gained attention for their roles in the extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTO) seen in some young and intermediate-age clusters (ages < 2 Gyr). Although rapid rotation is expected due to their radiative envelopes, the presence of slow rotators remains puzzling. In this study, we examine disk and X-ray signatures among the intermediate-mass members of the star-forming cluster Trumpler 14. Of the 118 intermediate-mass members, 24 are considered disk-bearing on the basis of their infrared spectral indices derived from spectral energy distributions. The majority of these reside outside the heavily irradiated cluster core and are all slow rotators (lessapprox 100 km s−1) except for three fast-rotating Class III objects. Additionally, in the same sample of 118, 37 are X-ray sources, and 22 having available v sin i data show a systematically slower rotation than X-ray quiet sources. Our findings suggest that, while young stellar disks in intermediate-mass stars contribute to early spin-down, high-energy processes traced by X-ray emission during this phase could be an additional channel for angular-momentum loss in these stars.
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BibTeX
@misc{rao2026uncovering,
title = {{Uncovering the Origin of Slow Rotators among Intermediate-Mass Stars in the Star-Forming Cluster Trumpler 14}},
author = {Khushboo K. Rao and Wen-Ping Chen and Hsiang-Yu Chen and Kristen Dage and Stella S. R. Offner},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.11053},
eprint = {2609.11053},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11053},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Uncovering the Origin of Slow Rotators among Intermediate-Mass Stars in the Star-Forming Cluster Trumpler 14
AU - Khushboo K. Rao
AU - Wen-Ping Chen
AU - Hsiang-Yu Chen
AU - Kristen Dage
AU - Stella S. R. Offner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.11053
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11053
AB - Intermediate-mass (about 1.5-8 M_⊙) stars exhibit a wide range of rotation rates and have gained attention for their roles in the extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTO) seen in some young and intermediate-age clusters (ages < 2 Gyr). Although rapid rotation is expected due to their radiative envelopes, the presence of slow rotators remains puzzling. In this study, we examine disk and X-ray signatures among the intermediate-mass members of the star-forming cluster Trumpler 14. Of the 118 intermediate-mass members, 24 are considered disk-bearing on the basis of their infrared spectral indices derived from spectral energy distributions. The majority of these reside outside the heavily irradiated cluster core and are all slow rotators (lessapprox 100 km s^−1) except for three fast-rotating Class III objects. Additionally, in the same sample of 118, 37 are X-ray sources, and 22 having available v sin i data show a systematically slower rotation than X-ray quiet sources. Our findings suggest that, while young stellar disks in intermediate-mass stars contribute to early spin-down, high-energy processes traced by X-ray emission during this phase could be an additional channel for angular-momentum loss in these stars.
ER -