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On the effects of stellar winds on exoplanetary magnetospheres

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

V. See ,
M. Jardine ,
A. A. Vidotto ,
P. Petit ,
S. C. Marsden  and
S. V. Jeffers
V. See*
Affiliation:
SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, KY16 9SS, St Andrews, UK
M. Jardine
Affiliation:
SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, KY16 9SS, St Andrews, UK
A. A. Vidotto
Affiliation:
SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, KY16 9SS, St Andrews, UK
P. Petit
Affiliation:
Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France CNRS, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France
S. C. Marsden
Affiliation:
Computational Engineering and Science Research Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, 4350, Australia
S. V. Jeffers
Affiliation:
Universität Göttingen, Institut für Astrophysik, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
*
*email: wcvs@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Abstract

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The habitable zone is the range of orbital distances from a host star in which an exoplanet would have a surface temperature suitable for maintaining liquid water. This makes the orbital distance of exoplanets an important variable when searching for extra-solar Earth analogues. However, the orbital distance is not the only important factor determining whether an exoplanet is potentially suitable for life. The ability of an exoplanet to retain an atmosphere is also vital since it helps regulate surface temperatures. One mechanism by which a planetary atmosphere can be lost is erosion due to a strong stellar wind from the host star. The presence of a magnetosphere can help to shield a planetary atmosphere from this process. Using a simple stellar wind model, we present the impact that stellar winds might have on magnetospheric sizes of exoplanets. This is done with the aim of further constraining the parameter space in which we look for extra-solar Earth analogues.

Keywords

stars: activitychromospheresMagnetic fieldsmass lossplanetary systemswinds
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 9 , Symposium S302: Magnetic Fields throughout Stellar Evolution , August 2013 , pp. 251 - 254
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014 

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