Open AccessBlue stragglers as stellar collision products: the angular momentum question
Author(s) -
Sills Alison,
Adams Tim,
Davies Melvyn B.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08809.x
Subject(s) - physics , blue straggler , angular momentum , stellar collision , globular cluster , stars , astrophysics , main sequence , sequence (biology) , astronomy , collision , stellar evolution , classical mechanics , biology , genetics , computer science , computer security
ABSTRACT We investigate the structure and evolution of blue straggler stars, which were formed from direct stellar collisions between main‐sequence stars in globular clusters. In particular, we look at the rotational evolution of the products of off‐axis collisions. As found in previous work, such blue stragglers initially have too high an angular momentum to contract down to the main sequence. We consider angular momentum loss through either disc locking or locking to an outflowing wind, and we show that both methods allow the merged object to shed sufficient angular momentum to contract down to the main sequence.