Stellar Rotation and Structure of the $\alpha$ Persei Complex: When Does Gyrochronology Start to Work?

Abstract

On the pre-main-sequence, the rotation rates of Sun-like stars are dictated by the interplay between the protostellar disk and the star's contraction. At ages exceeding 100 million years (Myr), magnetic spin-down erases the initial stellar spin rate and enables rotation-based age dating (gyrochronology). The exact time at which the transition between these two regimes occurs depends on stellar mass, and has been challenging to empirically resolve due to a lack of viable calibration clusters. The $\alpha$ Persei open cluster ($t\approx80$ Myr, $d\approx170$ pc) may provide the needed calibrator, but recent analyses of the Gaia data have provided wildly varying views of its age and spatial extent. As such, we analyze a combination of TESS, Gaia, and LAMOST data to calibrate gyrochronology at the age of $\alpha$ Per and to uncover the cluster's true morphology. By assembling a list of rotationally-confirmed $\alpha$ Per members, we provide strong evidence that $\alpha$ Per is part of a larger complex of similarly-aged stars. Through kinematic back-integration, we show that the most diffuse components of $\alpha$ Per were five times closer together 50 Myr ago. Finally, we use our stellar rotation periods to derive a relative gyrochronology age for $\alpha$ Per of 67 $\pm$ 12% the age of the Pleiades, which yields 86 $\pm$ 16 Myr given current knowledge. We show that by this age, stars more massive than $\approx$0.8 M$_{\odot}$ have converged to form a well-defined slow sequence.