Using stellar rotation to identify tidally stripped members of the Praesepe open cluster

TL;DR

This study uses stellar rotation periods from TESS data to confirm candidate members of the Praesepe cluster's tidal tails, demonstrating rotation as an effective tool for identifying dispersed cluster members.

Contribution

It introduces stellar rotation periods as a novel, efficient method to confirm tidally stripped members of open clusters like Praesepe.

Findings

32 stars' rotation periods match cluster core distribution

Rotation periods support candidate membership in tidal tails

Rotation-based membership confirmation is quick and cost-effective

Abstract

As an open cluster orbits the Milky Way, gravitational fields distort it, stripping stars from the core and forming tidal tails. Recent work has identified tidal tails of the Praesepe cluster; we explore rotation periods as a way to confirm these candidate members. In open clusters, the rotation period distribution evolves over time due to magnetic braking. Since tidally stripped stars originally formed within the cluster, they should follow the same period distribution as in the cluster core. We analyze 96 candidate members observed by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. We measure reliable rotation periods for 32 stars, while 64 light curves are noise-dominated. The 32 newly identified rotators are consistent with the period distribution in the core, and with past membership in Praesepe. We therefore suggest that for nearby open clusters, stellar rotation offers a quick and inexpensive method for confirming past members dispersed into tidal tails.