J. Sanz-Forcada, I. Ribas, G. Micela, A. M. T. Pollock, D. Garcia-Alvarez, E. Solano, C. Eiroa
备注:
A&A 511, L8 (2010). 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 online table (included). Language edited; corrected a wrong unit conversion (g/s -> M_J/Gyr); corrected values in column 12 of Table 1 (slightly underestimated in first version), and Figure 2 updated accordingly
Context: According to theory, high-energy emission from the coronae of cool stars can severely erode the atmospheres of orbiting planets. No observational tests of the long term effects of erosion have yet been made. Aims: To analyze the current distribution of planetary mass with X-ray irradiation of the atmospheres in order to make an observational assessment of the effects of erosion by coronal radiation. Methods: We study a large sample of planet-hosting stars with XMM-Newton, Chandra and ROSAT; make a careful identification of X-ray counterparts; and fit their spectra to make accurately measurements of the stellar X-ray flux. Results: The distribution of the planetary masses with X-ray flux suggests that erosion has taken place: most surviving massive planets, (M_p sin i >1.5 M_J), have been exposed to lower accumulated irradiation. Heavy erosion during the initial stages of stellar evolution is followed by a phase of much weaker erosion. A line dividing these two phases could be present, showing a strong dependence on planet mass. Although a larger sample will be required to establish a well-defined erosion line, the distribution found is very suggestive. Conclusions: The distribution of planetary mass with X-ray flux is consistent with a scenario in which planet atmospheres have suffered the effects of erosion by coronal X-ray and EUV emission. The erosion line is an observational constraint to models of atmospheric erosion.
The atmospheres of highly irradiated exoplanets are observed to undergo hydrodynamic escape. However, due to strong pressures, stellar winds can confine planetary atmospheres, reducing their escape. Here, we investigate under which conditions atmospheric escape of close-in giants could be confined by the large pressure of their host star's winds. For that, we simulate escape in planets at a range of orbital distances ([0.04, 0.14] au), planetary gravities ([36%, 87%] of Jupiter's gravity), and ages ([1, 6.9] Gyr). For each of these simulations, we calculate the ram pressure of these escaping a…
Evidence of magnetic interaction between late-type stars and close-in giant planets is provided by the observations of stellar hot spots rotating synchronously with the planets and showing an enhancement of chromospheric and X-ray fluxes. We investigate star-planet interaction in the framework of a magnetic field model of a stellar corona, considering the interaction between the coronal field and that of a planetary magnetosphere moving through the corona. The energy budget of the star-planet interaction is discussed assuming that the planet may trigger a release of the energy of the coronal f…
The most widely-studied mechanism of mass loss from extrasolar planets is photoevaporation via XUV ionization, primarily in the context of highly irradiated planets. However, the EUV dissociation of hydrogen molecules can also theoretically drive atmospheric evaporation on low-mass planets. For temperate planets such as the early Earth, impact erosion is expected to dominate in the traditional planetesimal accretion model, but it would be greatly reduced in pebble accretion scenarios, allowing other mass loss processes to be major contributors. We apply the same prescription for photoionizatio…
The search for exoplanets in the radio bands has been focused on detecting radio emissions produced by the interaction between magnetized planets and the stellar wind (auroral emission). Here we introduce a new tool, which is part of our MHD stellar corona model, to predict the ambient coronal radio emission and its modulations induced by a close planet. For simplicity, the present work assumes that the exoplanet is stationary in the frame rotating with the stellar rotation. We explore the radio flux modulations using a limited parameter space of idealized cases by changing the magnitude of th…
Since the first discovery of an extrasolar planetary system more than a decade ago, hundreds more have been discovered. Surprisingly, many of these systems harbor Jupiter-class gas giants located close to the central star, at distances of 0.1 AU or less. Observations of chromospheric 'hot spots' that rotate in phase with the planetary orbit, and elevated stellar X-ray luminosities,suggest that these close-in planets significantly affect the structure of the outer atmosphere of the star through interactions between the stellar magnetic field and the planetary magnetosphere. Here we carry out th…
The Decline and Fall of ROME. V. A Preliminary Search for Star-Disrupted Planet Interactions and Coronal Activity at 5 GHz Among White Dwarfs within 25 pc
Stellar activity can reveal itself in the form of radiation (eg, enhanced X-ray coronal emission, flares) and particles (eg, winds, coronal mass ejections). Together, these phenomena shape the space weather around (exo)planets. As stars evolve, so do their different forms of activity -- in general, younger solar-like stars have stronger winds, enhanced flare occurrence and likely more frequent coronal mass ejections. Altogether, these effects can create harsher particle and radiation environments for habitable-zone planets, in comparison to Earth, in particular at young ages. In this article, …
Do extrasolar planets affect the activity of their host stars? Indications for chromospheric activity enhancement have been found for a handful of targets, but in the X-ray regime, conclusive observational evidence is still missing. We want to establish a sound observational basis to confirm or reject major effects of Star-Planet Interactions (SPI) in stellar X-ray emissions. We therefore conduct a statistical analysis of stellar X-ray activity of all known planet-bearing stars within 30pc distance for dependencies on planetary parameters such as mass and semimajor axis. We find that in our sa…
We study the relationship between coronal X-ray emission and stellar age for late-type stars, and the variation of this relationship with spectral type. We select 717 stars from 13 open clusters and find that the ratio of X-ray to bolometric luminosity during the saturated phase of coronal emission decreases from 10^-3.1 for late K-dwarfs to 10^-4.3 for early F-type stars (across the range 0.29<(B-V)_0<1.41). Our determined saturation timescales vary between 10^7.6 and 10^8.3 years, though with no clear trend across the whole FGK range. We apply our X-ray emission - age relations to the invest…
Magnetic clouds (MCs) are transient structures containing large-scale magnetic flux ropes from solar eruptions. The twist of magnetic field lines around the rope axis reveals information about flux rope formation processes and geoeffectivity. During propagation, MC flux ropes may erode via reconnection with the ambient solar wind. Any erosion reduces the magnetic flux and helicity of the ropes, and changes their cross-sectional twist profiles. This study relates twist profiles in MC flux ropes observed at 1 AU to the amount of erosion undergone by the MCs in interplanetary space. The twist pro…
Space weather plays an important role in the evolution of planetary atmospheres. Observations have shown that stellar flares emit energy in a wide energy range (10^30-10^38 ergs), a fraction of which lies in X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (XUV). These flares heat the upper atmosphere of a planet, leading to increased escape rates, and can result in atmospheric erosion over a period of time. Observations also suggest that primordial terrestrial planets can accrete voluminous H/He envelopes. Stellar radiation can erode these protoatmospheres over time, and the extent of this erosion has implicat…
HD 209458 is one of the benchmark objects in the study of hot Jupiter atmospheres and their evaporation through planetary winds. The expansion of the planetary atmosphere is thought to be driven by high-energy EUV and X-ray irradiation. We obtained new Chandra HRC-I data, which unequivocally show that HD 209458 is an X-ray source. Combining these data with archival XMM-Newton observations, we find that the corona of HD 209458 is characterized by a temperature of about 1 MK and an emission measure of 7e49 cm^-3, yielding an X-ray luminosity of 1.6e27 erg/s in the 0.124-2.48 keV band. HD 209458 …
Energetic flares and associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from young magnetically active solar-like stars can play a critical role in setting conditions for atmospheric escape as well aspenetration of accelerated particles into their atmospheres that promotes formation of biologically relevant molecules. We have used the observationally reconstructed magnetic field of the 0.7 Gyr-young Suns twin, k1 Ceti, to study the effects of CME deflections in the magnetic corona of the young Sun and their effects on the impact frequency on the early Venus, Earth and Mars. We find that the coronal magn…
HD179949 is an F8V star, orbited by a close-in giant planet with a period of ~3 days. Previous studies suggested that the planet enhances the magnetic activity of the parent star, producing a chromospheric hot spot which rotates in phase with the planet orbit. However, this phenomenon is intermittent since it was observed in several but not all seasons. A long-term monitoring of the magnetic activity of HD179949 is required to study the amplitude and time scales of star-planet interactions. In 2009 we performed a simultaneous optical and X-ray spectroscopic campaign to monitor the magnetic act…
Interactions between the winds of stars and the magnetospheres and atmospheres of planets involve many processes, including the acceleration of particles, heating of upper atmospheres, and a diverse range of atmospheric loss processes. Winds remove angular momentum from their host stars causing rotational spin-down and a decay in magnetic activity, which protects atmospheres from erosion. While wind interactions are strongly influenced by the X-ray and ultraviolet activity of the star and the chemical composition of the atmosphere, the role of planetary magnetic fields is unclear. In this chap…
We present a formalism for a first-order estimation of the magnetosphere radius of exoplanets orbiting stars in the range from 0.08 to 1.3 Mo. With this radius, we estimate the atmospheric surface that is not protected from stellar winds. We have analyzed this unprotected surface for the most extreme environment for exoplanets: GKM-type and very low-mass stars at the two limits of the habitable zone. The estimated unprotected surface makes it possible to define a likelihood for an exoplanet to retain its atmosphere. This function can be incorporated into the new habitability index SEPHI. Using…
The low-mass star GJ 1151 has been reported to display variable low-frequency radio emission, which has been interpreted as a signpost of coronal star-planet interactions with an unseen exoplanet. Here we report the first X-ray detection of GJ 1151's corona based on XMM-Newton data. We find that the star displays a small flare during the X-ray observation. Averaged over the observation, we detect the star with a low coronal temperature of 1.6~MK and an X-ray luminosity of $L_X = 5.5\times 10^{26}$\,erg/s. During the quiescent time periods excluding the flare, the star remains undetected with a…
Context: The current distribution of planet mass vs. incident stellar X-ray flux supports the idea that photoevaporation of the atmosphere may take place in close-in planets. Integrated effects have to be accounted for. A proper calculation of the mass loss rate due to photoevaporation requires to estimate the total irradiation from the whole XUV range. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to extend the analysis of the photoevaporation in planetary atmospheres from the accessible X-rays to the mostly unobserved EUV range by using the coronal models of stars to calculate the EUV contribution to t…
The signatures of planets hosted by M dwarfs are more readily detected with transit photometry and radial velocity methods than those of planets around larger stars. Recently, transit photometry was used to discover seven planets orbiting the late-M dwarf TRAPPIST-1. Three of TRAPPIST-1's planets fall in the Habitable Zone, a region where liquid water could exist on the planetary surface given appropriate planetary conditions. We aim to investigate the habitability of the TRAPPIST-1 planets by studying the star's activity and its effect on the planets. We analyze previously-published space- an…
We report on our continued efforts to understand and delineate the magnetic dynamo-induced behavior/variability of red dwarf (K5 V - M6 V) stars over their long lifetimes. These properties include: rotation, light variations (from star spots), coronal-chromospheric XUV activity and flares. This study is being carried out as part of the NSF-sponsored Living with a Red Dwarf program. The Living with a Red Dwarf program's database of dM stars with photometrically determined rotation rates (from starspot modulations) continues to expand, as does the inventory of archival XUV observations. When all…
We present the results of a detailed numerical simulation of the circumstellar environment around three exoplanet-hosting stars. A state-of-the-art global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model is considered, including Alfvén wave dissipation as a self-consistent coronal heating mechanism. This paper contains the description of the numerical set-up, evaluation procedure, and the simulated coronal structure of each system (HD 1237, HD 22049 and HD 147513). The simulations are driven by surface magnetic field maps, recovered with the observational technique of Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI). A detailed c…
Our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, is a low mass star with spectral typedM5.5 and hosting an Earth-like planet orbiting within its habitable zone. However, the habitability of the planet depends on the high-energy radiation of the chromo-spheric and coronal activity of the host star. We report the Astrosat, Chandra and HST observation of Proxima Centauri carried out as part of the multi-wavelength simultaneous observational campaign. Using the soft X-ray data, we probe the different activity states of the star. We investigate the coronal temperatures, emission measures and abunda…
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are more energetic than any other class of solar phenomena. They arise from the rapid release of up to $10^{33}$ erg of magnetic energy mainly in the form of particle acceleration and bulk plasma motion. Their stellar counterparts, presumably involving much larger energies, are expected to play a fundamental role in shaping the environmental conditions around low-mass stars, in some cases perhaps with catastrophic consequences for planetary systems due to processes such as atmospheric erosion and depletion. Despite their importance, the direct observational eviden…
The atmospheric activity of the Sun and solar-type stars is analysed involving observations from HK-project at the Mount Wilson Observatory, the California and Carnegie Planet Search Program at the Keck and Lick Observatories, and the Magellan Planet Search Program at the Las Campanas Observatory. We show that for stars of F, G and K spectral classes, the cyclic activity, similar to the 11-yr Solar cycles, is different: it becomes more prominent in K-stars. Comparative study of solar-type stars with different levels of the chromospheric and coronal activity confirms that the Sun belongs to sta…
Magnetic (or tidal) interactions between "hot Jupiters" and their host stars can potentially enhance chromospheric and coronal activity. An ideal testbed for investigating this effect is provided by the extreme WASP-18 system, which features a massive (~10 times Jupiter) close-in (~1 day period) transiting planet orbiting a young F6 star. Optical and X-ray observations of WASP-18 were conducted in November 2011. The high-resolution echelle spectrograph MIKE was used on the 6.5m Magellan Clay telescope to obtain 13 spectra spanning planetary orbital phases of 0.7-1.4, while the X-ray Telescope …
Upper atmospheres of Hot Jupiters are subject to extreme radiation conditions that can result in rapid atmospheric escape. The composition and structure of the upper atmospheres of these planets are affected by the high-energy spectrum of the host star. This emission depends on stellar type and age, which are thus important factors in understanding the behaviour of exoplanetary atmospheres. In this study, we focus on Extrasolar Giant Planets (EPGs) orbiting K and M dwarf stars. XUV spectra for three different stars - epsilon Eridani, AD Leonis and AU Microscopii - are constructed using a coron…
By means of numerical simulations, we investigate magnetized stellar winds of pre-main-sequence stars. In particular we analyze under which circumstances these stars will present elongated magnetic features (e.g., helmet streamers, slingshot prominences, etc). We focus on weak-lined T Tauri stars, as the presence of the tenuous accretion disk is not expected to have strong influence on the structure of the stellar wind. We show that the plasma-beta parameter (the ratio of thermal to magnetic energy densities) is a decisive factor in defining the magnetic configuration of the stellar wind. Usin…
We investigate the evolution of both normal and inverse CMEs ejected at different initial velocities, and observe the effect of the background wind density and their magnetic polarity on their evolution up to 1 AU. We performed 2.5D simulations by solving the magnetohydrodynamic equations on a radially stretched grid, employing a block-based adaptive mesh refinement scheme based on a density threshold to achieve high resolution following the evolution of the magnetic clouds and the leading bow shocks. All the simulations discussed in the present paper were performed using the same initial grid…
The atmospheric activity of the Sun and Sun-like stars is analyzed involving observations from HK-project at the Mount Wilson Observatory, the California and Carnegie Planet Search Program at the Keck and Lick Observatories and the Magellan Planet Search Program at the Las Campanas Observatory. We show that for stars of F, G and K spectral classes, the cyclic activity, similar to the 11-yr solar cycles, is different: it becomes more prominent in K-stars. Comparative study of Sun-like stars with different levels of the chromospheric and coronal activity confirms that the Sun belongs to stars wi…
Two close-in planets have been recently found around the M-dwarf flare star AU Microscopii (AU Mic). These Neptune-sized planets (AU Mic b and c) seem to be located very close to the so-called "evaporation valley" in the exoplanet population, making this system an important target for studying atmospheric loss on exoplanets. This process, while mainly driven by the high-energy stellar radiation, will be strongly mediated by the space environment surrounding the planets. Here we present an investigation on this last area, performing 3D numerical modeling of the quiescent stellar wind from AU Mi…
Several "hot Jupiter" host stars appear to exhibit enhanced chromospheric activity, coronal flaring, and starspot development synchronized to their planetary orbits. These effects have been attributed to tidal and/or magnetic interactions between the star and exoplanet. The best studied among such systems is HD 189733, which has previously been observed from radio to X-ray wavelengths. Here, I present ~4.75 GHz Arecibo radio telescope observations of HD 189733 during a fraction of the exoplanet orbital phase range previously associated with enhanced coronal X-ray flaring. No radio flares from …
Chemical abundances in solar-type stars are a much debated topic. Planet-hosting stars are known to be metal-rich, but whether or not this peculiarity applies also to the chemical composition of the outer stellar atmospheres is still to be clarified. More in general, coronal and photospheric abundances in late-type stars appear to be different in many cases, but understanding how chemical stratification effects work in stellar atmospheres requires an observational base larger than currently available. We obtained XMM-Newton high-resolution X-ray spectra of Tau Bootis, a well known nearby star …
Coronal Mass Ejections from Young Suns: Insights from Solar and Stellar Observations and Models
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center(NASA戈达德太空飞行中心);The Catholic University of America(美国天主教大学);The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University(京都大学Hakubi高级研究中心);Department of Physics, Kyoto University(京都大学物理系)
Many low-mass pre-main-sequence stars exhibit strong magnetic activity and coronal X-ray emission. Even after the primordial accretion disk has been cleared out, the star's high-energy radiation continues to affect the formation and evolution of dust, planetesimals, and large planets. Young stars with debris disks are thus ideal environments for studying the earliest stages of non-accretion-driven coronae. In this paper we simulate the corona of AU Mic, a nearby active M dwarf with an edge-on debris disk. We apply a self-consistent model of coronal loop heating that was derived from numerical …
Close-in, giant planets are expected to influence their host stars via tidal or magnetic interaction. But are these effects strong enough in suitable targets known so far to be observed with today's instrumentation? The upsilon And system, an F8V star with a Hot Jupiter, was claimed to undergo cyclic changes in chromospheric activity indicators with its innermost planet's period. We want to investigate the stellar chromospheric and coronal activity over several months. We therefore monitored the star in X-rays as well as at optical wavelengths to test coronal and chromospheric activity indicat…
Observations from the Kepler mission have revealed frequent superflares on young and active solar-like stars. Superflares result from the large-scale restructuring of stellar magnetic fields, and are associated with the eruption of coronal material (a coronal mass ejection, or CME) and energy release that can be orders of magnitude greater than those observed in the largest solar flares. These catastrophic events, if frequent, can significantly impact the potential habitability of terrestrial exoplanets through atmospheric erosion or intense radiation exposure at the surface. We present result…
We investigated the coronal activity of planet-hosting stars by means of statistical analysis for a complete sample of stars in the solar neighborhood. We find no observational evidence that Star-Planet Interactions are at work in this sample, at least not at the sensitivity levels of our observations. We additionally test the upsilon Andromedae system, an F8V star with a Hot Jupiter and two other known planets, for signatures of Star-Planet Interactions in the chromosphere, but only detect variability with the stellar rotation period.
PDS 70 is a $\sim$5 Myr old star with a gas and dust disc in which several proto-planets have been discovered. We present the first UV detection of the system along with X-ray observations taken with the \textit{Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory} satellite. PDS 70 has an X-ray flux of 3.4$\times 10^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ in the 0.3-10.0 keV range, and UV flux (U band) of 3.5$\times 10^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ . At the distance of 113.4 pc determined from Gaia DR2 this gives luminosities of 5.2$\times 10^{29}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and 5.4$\times 10^{29}$ erg s$^{-1}$ respectively. The X-ray lu…
Coronal Mass Ejections from Young Suns: An Observational View through the Solar-Stellar Connection
The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research, Kyoto University(京都大学白兔高级研究中心);Department of Physics, Kyoto University(京都大学物理系);Heliophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center(NASA戈达德太空飞行中心太阳物理学部);Department of Physics, The Catholic University of America(美国天主教大学物理系)
Upcoming missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope, will soon characterize the atmospheres of terrestrial-type exoplanets in habitable zones around cool K- and M-type stars searching for atmospheric biosignatures. Recent observations suggest that the ionizing radiation and particle environment from active cool planet hosts may be detrimental for exoplanetary habitability. Since no direct information on the radiation field is available, empirical relations between signatures of stellar activity, including the sizes and magnetic fields of starspots, are often used. Here, we revisit the …
Abridged. We observed the 40 Myr old star DS Tuc A with XMM-Newton and recorded two X-ray bright flares, with the second event occurring about 12 ks after the first one. Their duration from the rise to the end of the decay was of about 8-10 ks in soft X-rays (0.3-10 keV). The flares were also recorded in the band 200-300 nm with the UVM2 filter of the Optical Monitor. The duration of the flares in UV was about 3 ks. The observed delay between the peak in the UV band and in X-rays is a probe of the heating phase followed by the evaporation and increase of density and emission measure of the fla…
Red Dwarf (dM) stars are overwhelmingly the most numerous stars in our Galaxy. These cool, faint and low mass stars make up more than 80% of all stars. Also dM stars have extremely long life times (longer than 50-100 Gyr). Determining the number of red dwarfs with planets and assessing planetary habitability (a planet's potential to develop and sustain life) is critically important because such studies would indicate how common life is in the universe. Our program - "Living with a Red Dwarf" - addresses these questions by investigating the long-term nuclear evolution and the coronal and chromo…
The frequency of discs around young stars, a key parameter for understanding planet formation, is most readily determined in young stellar clusters where many relatively coeval stars are located in close proximity. Observational studies seem to show that the disc frequency decreases rapidly with cluster age with <10% of cluster stars retaining their discs for longer than 2-6 Myr. Given that at least half of all stars in the field seem to harbor one or more planets, this would imply extremely fast disc dispersal and rapid planet growth. Here we question the validity of this constraint by demons…
Magnetic flux rope (MFR) is the core structure of the greatest eruptions, i.e., the coronal mass ejections (CMEs), on the Sun, and magnetic clouds are post-eruption MFRs in interplanetary space. There is a strong debate about whether or not a MFR exists prior to a CME and how the MFR forms/grows through magnetic reconnection during the eruption. Here we report a rare event, in which a magnetic cloud was observed sequentially by four spacecraft near Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, respectively. With the aids of a uniform-twist flux rope model and a newly developed method that can recover a shoc…
We investigate whether magnetic interaction between close-in giant planets and their host stars produce observable statistical enhancements in stellar coronal or chromospheric activity. New Chandra observations of 12 nearby (d<60 pc) planet-hosting solar analogs are combined with archival Chandra, XMM-Newton, and ROSAT coverage of 11 similar stars to construct a sample inoculated against inherent stellar class and planet-detection biases. Survival analysis and Bayesian regression methods (incorporating both measurements errors and X-ray upper limits; 13/23 stars have secure detections) are use…