Inferring Rotation Periods of Young Stars from Synoptic Observations

Using known distributions for the periods, amplitudes and light-curve shapes of young stars, we examine how well one could measure periods of these objects in the upcoming era of large synoptic surveys. Surveys like the LSST should be able to recover accurate rotation periods for over 90% of targets of interest in regions near to massive-star formation. That information will usher in a new era in our understanding of how the angular momentum of a young star/disk system evolves with time.