The chromospheric emission of solar-type stars in the young open clusters IC 2391 and IC 2602

Abstract

In this paper we present chromospheric emission levels of the solar-type stars in the young open clusters IC 2391 and IC 2602. High-resolution spectroscopic data were obtained for over 50 F, G and K stars from these clusters over several observing campaigns using the University College London Echelle Spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. Unlike older clusters, the majority (2852) of the solar-type stars in the two clusters are rapid rotators (v sin i > 20 km s-1) with five of the stars being classified as ultra-rapid rotators (v sin i > 100 km s-1). The emission levels in the calcium infrared triplet lines were then used as a measure of the chromospheric activity of the stars. When plotted against the Rossby number (NR), the star's chromospheric emission levels show a plateau in the emission for log(NR) ≲ -1.1 indicating chromospheric saturation similar to the coronal saturation seen in previously observed X-ray emission from the same stars. However, unlike the coronal emission, the chromospheric emission of the stars shows little evidence of a reduction in emission (i.e. supersaturation) for the ultra-rapid rotators in the clusters. Thus we believe that coronal supersaturation is not the result of an overall decrease in magnetic dynamo efficiency for ultra-rapid rotators. © 2009 RAS.