Estimating the Convective Turnover Time

TL;DR

This paper critiques existing methods of estimating stellar convective turnover time, highlighting biases in current relations, and advocates for multi-dimensional, data-driven models using Gaia data for improved accuracy.

Contribution

It identifies inaccuracies in current $ au$-mass relations for G and M dwarfs and proposes a new approach using multi-dimensional relations based on Gaia data and theoretical models.

Findings

Current $ au$-mass relations overestimate for G dwarfs.

Current $ au$-mass relations underestimate for late M dwarfs.

A multi-dimensional approach can improve $ au$ estimation accuracy.

Abstract

The introduction of the Rossby number (R$_0$), which incorporates the convective turnover time ($\tau$), in 1984 was a pioneering idea for understanding the correlation between stellar rotation and activity. The convective turnover time, which cannot be measured directly, is often inferred using existing $\tau$-mass or $\tau$-color relations, typically established based on an ensemble of different types of stars by assuming that $\tau$ is a function of mass. In this work, we use {\it Gaia} Early Data Release 3 to demonstrate that the masses used to establish one of the most cited $\tau$-mass relations are overestimated for G type dwarfs and significantly underestimated for late M dwarfs, offsets that affect studies using this $\tau$-mass relation to draw conclusions. We discuss the challenges of creating such relations then and now. In the era of {\it Gaia} and other large datasets, stars used to establish these relations require characterization in a multi-dimensional space, rather than via the single-characteristic relations of the past. We propose that new multi-dimensional relations should be established based on updated theoretical models and all available stellar parameters for different interior structures from a set of carefully vetted single stars, so that the convective turnover time can be estimated more accurately.