The radii of M-dwarfs in the young open cluster NGC 2516

Abstract

Using a novel technique, which combines previously determined rotation periods with new spectroscopic determinations of projected rotation velocity, we have determined radii for fast rotating, low-mass (0.2-0.7 Msun) M-dwarfs in the young, solar-metallicity open cluster, NGC 2516. The mean radii are larger than model predictions at a given absolute I or K magnitude and also larger than the measured radii of magnetically inactive M-dwarfs; the difference increases from a few per cent, to 50 per cent for the lowest luminosity stars in our sample. We show that a simple two-temperature starspot model is broadly capable of explaining these observations, but requires spot coverage fractions of about 50 per cent in rapidly rotating M-dwarfs.

Accepted for MNRAS letters (5 pages)