The first rotation periods in Praesepe     

Alexander Scholz  Jochen Eislöffel 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2007,381(4):1638-1646

The cluster Praesepe (age ∼650 Myr) is an ideal laboratory to study stellar evolution. Specifically, it allows us to trace the long-term decline of rotation and activity on the main sequence. Here, we present rotation periods measured for five stars in Praesepe with masses of 0.1–0.5 M_⊙– the first rotation periods for members of this cluster. Photometric periodicities were found from two extensive monitoring campaigns, and are confirmed by multiple independent test procedures. We attribute these variations to magnetic spots co-rotating with the objects, thus indicating the rotation period. The five periods, ranging from 5 to 84 h, show a clear positive correlation with object mass, a trend which has been reported previously in younger clusters. When comparing with data for F–K stars in the coeval Hyades, we find a dramatic drop in the periods at spectral type K8–M2 (corresponding to 0.4–0.6 M_⊙). A comparison with periods of very low mass (VLM) stars in younger clusters provides a constraint on the spin-down time-scale: we find that the exponential rotational braking time-scale is clearly longer than 200 Myr, most likely 400–800 Myr. These results are not affected by the small sample size in the rotation periods in Praesepe. Both findings, the steep drop in the period–mass relation and the long spin-down time-scale, indicate a substantial change in the angular momentum loss mechanism for VLM objects, possibly the breakdown of the solar-type (Skumanich) rotational braking. While the physical origin for this behaviour is unclear, we argue that parts of it might be explained by the disappearance of the radiative core and the resulting breakdown of an interface-type dynamo in the VLM regime. Rotational studies in this mass range hold great potential to probe magnetic properties and interior structure of main-sequence stars.  相似文献   

Facies architecture and sedimentology of a meandering fluvial system: a Palaeogene example from the Weisselster Basin, Germany   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Jochen Halfar  Walter Riegel  & Harald Walther 《Sedimentology》1998,45(1):1-17

The Schleenhain open pit coal mine, located 30 km south of Leipzig, Germany, exposes Upper Eocene and Oligocene non-marine strata representing fluvial deposition in the centre of the Weisselster Basin. Active mining and successive cuts provided the rare opportunity to obtain a three-dimensional perspective of laterally extensive surface outcrops. These were used to construct a detailed fence diagram, which provided the basis for recognition of key architectural elements in the weakly consolidated meandering stream deposits. In addition to the eight basic architectural elements of Miall (1985 ), the element SL (shallow lake deposits) was newly defined and the element CH (channel) was subdivided into CHg (palaeo-river system) and CHk (small channel). The profiles contain parts of two fining-upward cycles, which are separated by an unconformity spanning the Early Oligocene. Deposits of the first cycle begin with transverse sand bars (downstream accretion deposits-DA) and point bars (lateral accretion deposits-LA). The upper part of the cycle is represented by overbank fines (OF) and the element SL, which consists of laterally discontinuous lenses of dark, plant-bearing, kaolinite-rich clays, that were deposited in shallow lakes adjacent to the active channel. Coal seams interlayered with palaeosols are the main constituents of element OF. Sheetlike bodies of medium to fine gravels (gravel bars and bedforms-GB) on an erosive coal surface mark the beginning of the second cycle. Dissolution of underlying Permian salts and sulphates prior to, during, and after the deposition of the Palaeogene strata caused the development of two synclines within the outcrop. Coal seams and clay horizons which thicken and dip towards the centre of the synclines, provide evidence for their chronological development.  相似文献