The exoplanetary magnetosphere extension in Sun-like stars based on the solar wind -- solar UV relation
Raffaele Reda, Luca Giovannelli, Tommaso Alberti, Francesco Berrilli, Luca Bertello, Dario Del Moro, Maria Pia Di Mauro, Piermarco Giobbi, Valentina Penza
备注：
11 pages, 6 figures
发表信息：
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2023
The Earth's magnetosphere extension is controlled by the solar activity level via solar wind properties. Understanding such a relation in the Solar System is important for predicting also the condition of exoplanetary magnetospheres near Sun-like stars. We use measurements of a chromospheric proxy, the Ca II K index, and solar wind OMNI parameters to connect the solar activity variations, on the decennial time scales, to the solar wind properties. The data span over the time interval 1965-2021, which almost entirely covers the last 5 solar cycles. Using both cross-correlation and mutual information analysis, a 3.2-year lag of the solar wind speed with respect to the Ca II K index is found. Analogously, a 3.6-year lag is found once considering the dynamic pressure. A correlation between the solar wind dynamic pressure and the solar UV emission is found and used to derive the Earth's magnetopause standoff distance. Moreover, the advantage of using a chromospheric proxy, such as the Ca II K index, opens the possibility to extend the relation found for the Sun to Sun-like stars, by linking stellar variability to stellar wind properties. The model is applied to a sample of Sun-like stars as a case study, where we assume the presence of an Earth-like exoplanet at 1 AU. Finally, we compare our results with previous estimates of the magnetosphere extension for the same set of Sun-like stars.
Stellar Wind Driven Alfvén Wing Dynamics in Planetary and Exoplanetary Magnetospheres
Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata（印度空间科学卓越中心，印度科学教育研究所加尔各答分校）；Department of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata（印度科学教育研究所加尔各答分校物理科学系）；Center for High Energy Systems and Sciences, Defence Research and Development Organization（国防研究与发展组织高能系统与科学中心）；Department of Physics, Fakir Chand College（法基尔昌德学院物理系）
As a star spins-down during the main sequence, its wind properties are affected. In this work, we investigate how the Earth's magnetosphere has responded to the change in the solar wind. Earth's magnetosphere is simulated using 3D magnetohydrodynamic models that incorporate the evolving local properties of the solar wind. The solar wind, on the other hand, is modelled in 1.5D for a range of rotation rates Omega from 50 to 0.8 times the present-day solar rotation (Omega_sun). Our solar wind model uses empirical values for magnetic field strengths, base temperature and density, which are derived…
Faint young Sun paradox (FYSP) is one of the unsolved problem in solar physics. The present study aims to get a possible solution for the FYSP through sun-like G stars and their exoplanetary systems. Using physical properties of exoplanetary data, an empirical relationship between the rate of mass loss ($\frac{dM}{dt}$) with stellar mass (M$_{\star}$) and age ({\em t}) is obtained. We found mass loss rate varies with stellar mass as $\propto$ $(M_{\star}/M_\odot)^{-3.788}$ and proportional to the age as $\propto$ t$^{-1.25}$, which indicates rate of mass loss is higher during early evolutionar…
Stellar high-energy radiation (X-ray and extreme ultraviolet, XUV) drives atmospheric escape in close-in exoplanets. Given that stellar irradiation depends on the stellar magnetism and that stars have magnetic cycles, we investigate how cycles affect the evolution of exoplanetary atmospheric escape. Firstly, we consider a hypothetical HD209458b-like planet orbiting the Sun. For that, we implement the observed solar XUV radiation available over one and a half solar cycles in a 1D hydrodynamic escape model of HD209458b. We find that atmospheric escape rates show a cyclic variation (from 7.6 to 1…
Recent observations have shown that in many exoplanetary systems the spin axis of the parent star is misaligned with the planet's orbital axis. These have been used to argue against the scenario that short-period planets migrated to their present-day locations due to tidal interactions with their natal discs. However, this interpretation is based on the assumption that the spins of young stars are parallel to the rotation axes of protostellar discs around them. We show that the interaction between a magnetic star and its circumstellar disc can (but not always) have the effect of pushing the st…
Magnetic fields of exoplanets are important in shielding the planets from cosmic rays and interplanetary plasma. Due to the interaction with the electrons from their host stars, the exoplanetary magnetospheres are predicted to have both cyclotron and synchrotron radio emissions, of which neither has been definitely identified in observations yet. As the coherent cyclotron emission has been extensively studied in literatures, here we focus on the planetary synchrotron radiation with bursty behaviors (i.e., radio flares) caused by the outbreaks of energetic electron ejections from the host star.…
We perform a series of time dependent Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the HD 189733 star-planet system in order to predict radio transit modulations due to the interaction between the stellar wind and planetary magnetic field. The simulation combines a model for the stellar corona and wind with an exoplanet that is orbiting the star in a fully dynamic, time-dependent manner. Our simulations generate synthetic radio images that enable us to obtain synthetic radio lightcurves in different frequencies. We find a clear evidence for the planetary motion in the radio light curves. Moreover, we fi…
Context: The stellar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field modify the topology of planetary magnetospheres. Consequently, the hazardous effect of the direct exposition to the stellar wind, for example regarding the integrity of satellites orbiting the Earth or the habitability of exoplanets, depend upon the space weather conditions. Aims: The aim of the study is to analyze the response of an Earth-like magnetosphere for various space weather conditions and interplanetary coronal mass ejections. The magnetopause stand off distance, open-close field line boundary and plasma flows towards th…
It has been posited that lunar eclipse observations may help predict the in-transit signature of Earth-like extrasolar planets. However, a comparative analysis of the two phenomena addressing in detail the transport of stellar light through the planet's atmosphere has not yet been presented. Here, we proceed with the investigation of both phenomena by making use of a common formulation. Our starting point is a set of previously unpublished near-infrared spectra collected at various phases during the August 2008 lunar eclipse. We then take the formulation to the limit of an infinitely distant o…
Solar eruptions, known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), are frequently observed on our Sun. Recent Kepler observations of superflares on G-type stars have implied that so called super-CMEs, possessing kinetic energies 10 times of the most powerful CME event ever observed on the Sun, could be produced with a frequency of 1 event per 800-2000 yr on solar-like slowly rotating stars. We have performed a 3D time-dependent global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the magnetic interaction of such a CME cloud with the Earth's magnetosphere. We calculated the global structure of the perturbed magnetos…
We present a focused parameter study of solar wind - magnetosphere interaction for the young Sun and Earth, $~3.5$ Ga ago, that relies on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations for both the solar wind and the magnetosphere. By simulating the quiescent young Sun and its wind we are able to propagate the MHD simulations up to Earth's magnetosphere and obtain a physically realistic solar forcing of it. We assess how sensitive the young solar wind is to changes in the coronal base density, sunspot placement and magnetic field strength, dipole magnetic field strength and the Sun's rotation period. F…
Precise exoplanet characterization requires precise classification of exoplanet host stars. The masses of host stars are commonly estimated by comparing their spectra to those predicted by stellar evolution models. However, spectroscopically determined properties are difficult to measure accurately for stars that are substantially different from the Sun, such as M-dwarfs and evolved stars. Here, we propose a new method to dynamically measure the masses of transiting planets near mean-motion resonances and their host stars by combining observations of transit timing variations with radial veloc…
Both stars and planets can lose mass through an expansive wind outflow, often constrained or channeled by magnetic fields that form a surrounding magnetosphere. The very strong winds of massive stars are understood to be driven by line-scattering of the star's radiative momentum, while in the Sun and even lower-mass stars a much weaker mass loss arises from the thermal expansion of a mechanically heated corona. In exoplanets around such low-mass stars, the radiative heating and wind interaction can lead to thermal expansion or mechanical ablation of their atmospheres. Stellar magnetospheres re…
The explosion of space weather research since the early 1990s has been partly fueled by the unprecedented, uniform, and extended observations of solar disturbances from space and ground based instruments. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from closed magnetic field regions and high speed streams (HSS) from open field regions on the Sun account for most of the disturbances relevant to space weather. The main consequences of CMEs and HSS are their ability to cause geomagnetic storms and accelerate particles. Particles accelerated by CME driven shocks can pose danger to humans and their technological…
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…
We use axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to investigate the launching and collimation of jets emerging from the disk-magnetosphere boundary of accreting magnetized stars. Our analysis shows that the matter flows into the jet from the inner edge of the accretion disk. It is magnetically accelerated along field lines extending up from the disk and simultaneously collimated by the magnetic pinch force. In the reference run which we use for analysis, the matter in the jet crosses the Alfvén surface a few R_* above the disk and the fast magnetosonic surface ~13 R_* above the disk. …
Binary-star exoplanetary systems are now known to be common, for both wide and close binaries. However, their orbital evolution is generally unsolvable. Special cases of the N-body problem which are in fact completely solvable include dynamical architectures known as central configurations. Here, I utilize recent advances in our knowledge of central configurations to assess the plausibility of linking them to coplanar exoplanetary binary systems. By simply restricting constituent masses to be within stellar or substellar ranges characteristic of planetary systems, I find that (i) this constrai…
We present calculations of auroral radio powers of magnetised hot Jupiters orbiting Sun-like stars, computed using global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modelling of the magnetospheric and ionospheric convection arising from the interaction between the magnetosphere and the stellar wind. Exoplanetary auroral radio powers are traditionally estimated using empirical or analytically-derived relations, such as the Radiometric Bode's Law (RBL), which relates radio power to the magnetic or kinetic energy dissipated in the stellar wind-planet interaction. Such methods risk an oversimplification of the mag…
Solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, its causes and consequences have been studied for the last several decades. However, the assessment of continuously changing behaviour of the sun, plasma and field flows in the interplanetary space and their influence on geomagnetic activity is still a subject of intense research. Search for the best possible coupling function is also important for space weather prediction. We utilize four geomagnetic indices (ap, aa, AE and Dst) as parameters of geomagnetic activity level in the earth's magnetosphere. In addition to these indices, we utilize various solar wi…
An X1.7 flare at 10:15 UT and a halo CME with a projected speed of 942 km/s erupted from NOAA solar active region 9393 located at N20W19, were observed on 2001 March 29. When the CME reached the Earth, it triggered a super geomagnetic storm (hereafter super storm). We find that the CME always moved towards the Earth according to the intensity-time profiles of protons with different energies. The solar wind parameters responsible for the main phase of the super storm occurred on March 31, 2001 is analyzed taking into account the delayed geomagnetic effect of solar wind at the L1 point and using…
We report magnetic field measurements for Kappa1~Cet, a proxy of the young Sun when life arose on Earth. We carry out an analysis of the magnetic properties determined from spectropolarimetric observations and reconstruct its large-scale surface magnetic field to derive the magnetic environment, stellar winds and particle flux permeating the interplanetary medium around Kappa1~Cet. Our results show a closer magnetosphere and mass-loss rate of Mdot = 9.7 x 10^{-13} Msol/yr, i.e., a factor 50 times larger than the current solar wind mass-loss rate, resulting in a larger interaction via space wea…
The Sun will eventually lose about half of its current mass nonlinearly over several phases of post-main sequence evolution. This mass loss will cause any surviving orbiting body to increase its semimajor axis and perhaps vary its eccentricity. Here, we use a range of Solar models spanning plausible evolutionary sequences and assume isotropic mass loss to assess the possibility of escape from the Solar System. We find that the critical semimajor axis in the Solar System within which an orbiting body is guaranteed to remain bound to the dying Sun due to perturbations from stellar mass loss alon…
JWST Exoplanetary Worlds and Elemental Survey (JEWELS) II: Condensation Temperature Trends and Galactic Chemical Evolution in JWST Planet-Hosting Stars
Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, & State Key Laboratory of Dark Matter Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University（上海交通大学物理与天文学院、汤川研究所、暗物质物理国家重点实验室）；Department of Physics, King’s College London（伦敦国王学院物理系）；Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University（清华大学天文系）；National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）
The great majority of exoplanets discovered so far are orbiting cool, low-mass stars whose properties are relatively similar to the Sun. However, the stellar magnetism of these stars can be significantly different from the solar one, both in topology and intensity. In addition, due to the present-day technology used in exoplanetary searches, most of the currently known exoplanets are found orbiting at extremely close distances to their host stars ($< 0.1$ au). The dramatic differences in stellar magnetism and orbital radius can make the interplanetary medium of exoplanetary systems remarkably …
Geomagnetic storms, disturbances of Earth's magnetosphere caused by masses of charged particles being emitted from the Sun, are an uncontrollable threat to modern technology. Notably, they have the potential to damage satellites and cause instability in power grids on Earth, among other disasters. They result from high sun activity, which are induced from cool areas on the Sun known as sunspots. Forecasting the storms to prevent disasters requires an understanding of how and when they will occur. However, current prediction methods at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) …
Very recent measurements of stellar winds are used to update relations between winds and coronal activity. New wind constraints include an upper limit of Mdot<0.1 Mdot_sun for Tau Ceti (G8 V), derived from a nondetection of astrospheric H I Lyman-alpha absorption. This upper limit is reported here for the first time, and represents the weakest wind constrained using the astrospheric absorption technique. A high mass loss rate measurement of Mdot=10 Mdot_sun for Delta Pav (G8 IV) from astrospheric Lyman-alpha absorption suggests stronger winds for subgiants than for main sequence stars of equiv…
Direct Optical Evidence of Late-Stage Infall in AB Aurigae: A Stagnant [O I] Reservoir and a Crushed Magnetosphere
Physical Research Laboratory（物理研究实验室）；Physics Department, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar（印度理工学院甘地纳加尔物理系）；European Southern Observatory（欧洲南方天文台）
A shower of secondary Cosmic Ray (CR) particles is produced at high altitudes in the Earth's atmosphere, so the primordial Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) are never directly measured outside the Earth magnetosphere and atmosphere. They approach the Earth and other planets in the complex pattern of rigidity's dependence, generally excluded by the magnetosphere. GCRs revealed by images of single nuclear reactions also called spallation events are described here. Such an event was seen on Nov. 29, 2015 using a unique LASCO C3 space coronagraph routine image taken during the Solar and Heliospheric Obs…
Study Analysis Group 21 (SAG21) of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group (ExoPAG) was organized to study the effect of stellar contamination on space-based transmission spectroscopy, a method for studying exoplanetary atmospheres by measuring the wavelength-dependent radius of a planet as it transits its star. Transmission spectroscopy relies on a precise understanding of the spectrum of the star being occulted. However, stars are not homogeneous, constant light sources but have temporally evolving photospheres and chromospheres with inhomogeneities like spots, faculae, plages, g…
The literature on precision differential abundances (PDAs) in stars is extensive. Surveys include sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood, binary systems, and Galactic clusters. Numerous references as well as a discussion of relevant mechanisms may be found in papers by Ramirez, et al. (2019) and Nagar, et al. (2020). A strong impetus for this work is the probability that the abundances have been influenced by exoplanetary systems and their evolution. We calculate the resulting differential abundances ([El/H]) assuming a given amount of material with the composition of the bulk earth (Wang, e…
In a thorough study, we investigate the origin of a remarkable plasma and magnetic field configuration observed in situ on June 22, 2011 near L1, which appears to be a magnetic ejecta (ME) and a shock signature engulfed by a solar wind high-speed stream (HSS). We identify the signatures as an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), associated with a C7.7 flare on June 21, 2011, and its interaction with a HSS, which emanates from a coronal hole (CH) close to the launch site of the CME. The results indicate that the major interaction between the CME and the HSS starts at a height of 1.3 Rsun…
Many jets are detected at X-ray wavelengths in the Sun's polar regions, and the ejected plasma along the jets has been suggested to contribute mass to the fast solar wind. From in-situ measurements in the magnetosphere, it has been found that the fast solar wind has photospheric abundances while the slow solar wind has coronal abundances. Therefore, we investigated the abundances of polar jets to determine whether they are the same as that of the fast solar wind. For this study, we selected 22 jets in the polar region observed by Hinode/EIS (EUV Imaging Spectrometer) and XRT (X-Ray Telescope) …
The young magnetically active solar-like stars are efficient generators of ionizing radiation in the form of X-ray and Extreme UV (EUV) flux, stellar wind and eruptive events. These outputs are the critical factors affecting atmospheric escape and chemistry of (exo)planets around active stars. While X-ray fluxes and surface magnetic fields can be derived from observations, the EUV emission and wind mass fluxes, Coronal Mass Ejections and associated Stellar Energetic Particle events cannot be directly observed. Here, we present the results of a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model …
This paper is in response to a technical paper, entitled "Evidence for a New Component of High-Energy Solar Gamma-Ray Production" (Linden, et al., 2018). An article in Scientific American entitled "The Sun Is Spitting Out Strange Patterns of Gamma Rays-and No One Knows Why" is a discussion of Linden's paper. It may be summarized as follows: The Sun has been observed to be emitting gamma ray bursts. The weaker gamma rays tend to be less than 50 GeV, emitted during the most active energetic period of the solar cycle and towards the poles. The gamma-ray emission is most intense during Solar Minim…
How has the solar wind evolved to reach what it is today? In this review, I discuss the long-term evolution of the solar wind, including the evolution of observed properties that are intimately linked to the solar wind: rotation, magnetism and activity. Given that we cannot access data from the solar wind 4 billion years ago, this review relies on stellar data, in an effort to better place the Sun and the solar wind in a stellar context. I overview some clever detection methods of winds of solar-like stars, and derive from these an observed evolutionary sequence of solar wind mass-loss rates. …
Low-mass population III (PopIII) stars of $\lesssim 0.8 M_{\odot}$ could survive up until the present. Non-detection of low-mass PopIII stars in our Galaxy has already put a stringent constraint on the initial mass function (IMF) of PopIII stars, suggesting that PopIII stars have a top-heavy IMF. On the other hand, some claims that the lack of such stars stems from metal enrichment of their surface by accretion of heavy elements from interstellar medium (ISM). We investigate effects of the stellar wind on the metal accretion onto low-mass PopIII stars because accretion of the local ISM onto th…
Solar analogues are important stars to study for understanding the properties of the Sun. Evolutionary modeling, combined with seismic and spectroscopic analysis, becomes a powerful method to characterize stellar intrinsic parameters, such as mass, radius, metallicity and age.However, these characteristics, relevant for other aspects of astrophysics or exoplanetary system physics for example, are difficult to obtain with a high precision and/or accuracy. The goal of this study is to characterize the two solar analogues HD42618 and HD43587, observed by CoRoT. In particular, we aim to infer prec…
We present new wind models for τ Boötis (τ Boo), a hot-Jupiter-host-star whose observable magnetic cycles makes it a uniquely useful target for our goal of monitoring the temporal variability of stellar winds and their exoplanetary impacts. Using spectropolarimetric observations from May 2009 to January 2015, the most extensive information of this type yet available, to reconstruct the stellar magnetic field, we produce multiple 3D magnetohydrodynamic stellar wind models. Our results show that characteristic changes in the large-scale magnetic field as the star undergoes magnetic cycles produc…
The structure and dynamics of the magnetospheres of the outer planets, particularly Saturn and Jupiter, have been explored both through remote and in-situ observations. Interpreting these observations often necessitates simultaneous knowledge of the solar-wind conditions impinging on the magnetosphere. Without an available upstream monitor, solar-wind context is typically provided using models initiated with either the output of magnetogram-constrained coronal models or, more commonly, in-situ observations from 1 AU. While 1-AU observations provide a direct measure of solar wind conditions, th…
Impact of stellar spots on the high-resolution transmission spectra of a giant planet around a Sun-like star
Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto（葡萄牙波尔图大学太空科学与天体物理研究所）；Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto（葡萄牙波尔图大学理学院物理与天文系）
研究恒星斑点如何影响巨行星传输光谱中的吸收线轮廓，通过模拟不同斑点配置下的传输光谱，发现斑点大小、位置和恒星自转影响光谱畸变，Na I和Ca II K线受扰动最大，H-alpha线影响较小。
The authors of this report met on 28-30 March 2018 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for a 3-day workshop that brought together a group of data providers, expert modelers, and computer and data scientists, in the solar discipline. Their objective was to identify challenges in the path towards building an effective framework to achieve transformative advances in the understanding and forecasting of the Sun-Earth system from the upper convection zone of the Sun to the Earth's magnetosphere. The workshop aimed to develop a research roadmap that targets the scientific …
The sun as an oscillator produces frequencies which propagate in the heliosphere, via solar wind, to the terrestrial magnetosphere. We searched for those frequencies in the parameters of the near Earth solar plasma and the geomagnetic indices for the past four solar cycles. The solar wind parameters used in this work are the interplanetary magnetic field, plasma beta, Alfven Mach number, solar wind speed, plasma temperature, plasma pressure, plasma density and the geomagnetic indices DST, AE, Ap and Kp. We found out that each parameter of the solar wind exhibit certain periodicities which diff…
Transits of exoplanets across cool stars contain blended information about structures on the stellar surface and about the planetary body and atmosphere. To advance understanding of how this information is entangled, a surface-flux transport code, based on observed properties of the Sun's magnetic field, is used to simulate the appearance of hypothetical stellar photospheres from the visible near 4000 Angstrom to the near-IR at 1.6 micron, by mapping intensities characteristic of faculae and spots onto stellar disks. Stellar appearances are computed for a Sun-like star of solar activity up to …
