Rotational Velocities of Am and Non-CP Stars based on Kepler and LAMOST DR5

TL;DR

This study investigates the rotational velocities of Am and non-CP A-type stars using Kepler and LAMOST data, revealing similarities in surface inhomogeneities and age differences, and identifying flare activity in some non-CP stars.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of rotational properties and surface inhomogeneities between Am and non-CP stars, including the discovery of flare activity in non-CP stars.

Findings

Am stars are statistically younger than non-CP stars of similar temperature.

No significant difference in photometric variability between Am and non-CP stars.

Confirmed four non-CP stars with flare activity.

Abstract

Rotation is a critical physical process operating in the formation of Am stars. There is a strong correlation between low-velocity rotation and chemical peculiarity. However, the existence of many non-CP slow rotators challenges the understanding of Am stars. The purpose of our work is to search for low-velocity rotating non-CP A-type stars and Am stars and to make a comparative analysis. In this paper, we pick out a sample from the LAMOST-Kepler project, including 21 Am stars, 125 non-CP slow rotators, and 53 non-CP fast rotators. We calculate the rotational frequencies through periodic change of light curves caused by inhomogeneous stellar surfaces and then obtain the rotational velocities. For slow rotators, the age of Am stars is statistically younger than that of non-CP stars in the same temperature bin. In the comparison of the period, the average amplitude, and stellar mass of Am and non-CP stars, we discover that there is no difference in the photometric variability between Am and non-CP stars, which implies similar inhomogeneities on the surfaces. The average amplitude of non-CP stars has a downward trend with the increase of effective temperature and stellar mass, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction caused by weak dynamo-generated magnetic fields in A-type stars. In addition, we confirm four non-non-CP stars which have flares by checking FOV images, 24 pixel images, and pixel-level light curves.