Rotation, Planets, and the “second Parameter” of the Horizontal Branch

We analyze the angular momentum evolution from the red giant branch (RGB) to the horizontal branch (HB) and along the HB. Using rotation velocities for stars in the globular cluster M13, we find that the required angular momentum for the fast rotators is up to 1 − 3 orders of magnitude (depending on some assumptions) larger than that of the sun. Planets of masses up to five times Jupiter’s mass and up to an initial orbital separation of ∼ 2 AU are sufficient to spin-up the RGB progenitors of most of these fast rotators. Other stars have been spun-up by brown dwarfs or low-mass main sequence stars. Our results show that the fast rotating HB stars must have been spun-up by planets, brown dwarfs, or low-mass main sequence stars, while they evolved on the RGB. We argue that the angular momentum considerations presented in this paper further supports the “planet second parameter” model. In this model, the “second parameter” process, which determines the distribution of stars on the HB, is interaction with low-mass companions, in most cases gas giant planets, and in a minority of cases with brown dwarfs or low-mass main sequence stars. The masses and initial orbital separations of the planets (or brown dwarfs or low-mass main sequence stars) form a rich spectrum of different physical parameters, which manifests itself in the rich varieties of HB morphologies observed in the different globular clusters.