Testing the Disk Regulation Paradigm with Spitzer Observations. II. A Clear Signature of Star-Disk Interaction in NGC 2264 and the Orion Nebula Cluster

TL;DR

This study uses Spitzer observations to provide strong evidence that star-disk interactions regulate the angular momentum and rotation periods of young stars in clusters, confirming a long-standing hypothesis in star formation.

Contribution

It offers the first clear observational confirmation that star-disk interactions influence stellar rotation periods across entire period ranges in young clusters.

Findings

Disk fraction increases with stellar rotation period.

Long-period stars with disks dominate the bimodal distribution.

Stars without disks tend to have shorter rotation periods.

Abstract

Observations of PMS star rotation periods reveal slow rotators in young clusters of various ages, indicating that angular momentum is somehow removed from these rotating masses. The mechanism by which spin-up is regulated as young stars contract has been one of the longest-standing problems in star formation. Attempts to observationally confirm the prevailing theory that magnetic interaction between the star and its circumstellar disk regulates these rotation periods have produced mixed results. In this paper, we use the unprecedented disk identification capability of the Spitzer Space Telescope to test the star-disk interaction paradigm in two young clusters, NGC 2264 and the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC). We show that once mass effects and sensitivity biases are removed, a clear increase in the disk fraction with period can be observed in both clusters across the entire period range populated by cluster members. We also show that the long-period peak (P $\sim$8 days) of the bimodal distribution observed for high-mass stars in the ONC is dominated by a population of stars possessing a disk, while the short-period peak (P $\sim$2 days) is dominated by a population of stars without a disk. Our results represent the strongest evidence to date that star-disk interaction regulates the angular momentum of these young stars. This study will make possible quantitative comparisons between the observed period distributions of stars with and without a disk and numerical models of the angular momentum evolution of young stars.