The Effects of Stellar Rotation. I. Impact on the Ionizing Spectra and Integrated Properties of Stellar Populations

Abstract by Claus Leitherer et al.
We present a sample of synthetic massive stellar populations created using the Starburst99 evolu- tionary synthesis code and new sets of stellar evolutionary tracks, including one set that adopts a detailed treatment of rotation. Using the outputs of the Starburst99 code, we compare the popula- tions’ integrated properties, including ionizing radiation fields, bolometric luminosities, and colors. With these comparisons we are able to probe the specific effects of rotation on the properties of a stellar population. We find that a population of rotating stars produces a much harder ionizing radi- ation field and a higher bolometric luminosity, changes that are primarily attributable to the effects of rotational mixing on the lifetimes, luminosities, effective temperatures, and mass loss rates of mas- sive stars. We consider the implications of the profound effects that rotation can have on a stellar population, and discuss the importance of refining stellar evolutionary models for future work in the study of extragalactic, and particularly high-redshift, stellar populations.

Background Paper
"The Effects of Stellar Rotation. I. Impact on the Ionizing Spectra and Integrated Properties of Stellar Populations"
Levesque et al. 2012

Talk Slides
pdf