Abstract:
Angular momentum is a key property regulating star formation and evolution. However, the physics driving the distribution of the stellar rotation rates of early-type main-sequence stars is as yet poorly understood. Using our catalog of over 40,000 early-type stars with homogeneous vsini parameters, we review the statistical properties of their stellar rotation rates. We discuss the importance of possible contaminants, including binaries and chemically peculiar stars. Upon correction for projection effects and rectification of the error distribution, we derive the distributions of our sample’s equatorial rotation velocities, which show a clear dependence on stellar mass. A bimodal rotation distribution, composed of two branches of slowly and rapidly rotating stars, emerges for more massive stars. For the first time, we find that metal-poor stars only exhibit a single branch of slow rotators, while metal-rich stars clearly show two branches. The difference could be attributed to unexpectedly high spin-down rates and/or in part strong magnetic fields in the metal-poor subsample.
