Radius Inflation at Low Rossby Number in the Hyades Cluster

Abstract

Radius inflation continues to be explored as a peculiar occurrence among magnetically active, low-mass stars. Recently, Somers & Stassun showed that radius inflation among low-mass stars in the young open cluster M45 (Pleiades Cluster) is correlated to the rotation rate: faster rotators are more inflated. Here we extend that work to a sample of 68 stars of the older open Hyades Cluster. We derive the stars’ spectral energy distributions to measure their bolometric fluxes. With spectroscopically defined T _eff and Gaia distances we calculate stellar radii using the Stefan-Boltzmann relation. We find numerous stars that exhibit significant (3-4σ) radius inflation relative to a nominal cluster isochrone. We compare these results to that of the younger Pleiades and consider radius inflation as a function of open cluster evolution. We find that unlike the Pleiades, there is not a statistically significant correlation between radius inflation and stellar rotation period. However, we do find that most inflated stars have (rapid) rotational Rossby numbers of 0.1-0.2, such that the correlation of radius inflation with Rossby number is statistically significant at 99.98% confidence. Because the canonical rotation-activity relation of low-mass stars is understood to result from the connection between magnetic activity and surface convection, our results imply that magnetic activity within the convective layers of low-mass stars is what preferentially drives radius inflation.