Emission of Alfven Waves by Planets in Close Orbits

Details Emission of Alfven Waves by Planets in Close Orbits Emission of Alfven Waves by Planets in Close Orbits

Jan 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21734323m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #343.23; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We examine the electrodynamics of a conducting planet orbiting within a magnetized wind that emanates from its parent star. When the orbital motion differs from corotation with the star, an electric field exists in the rest frame of the planet, inducing a charge separation in its ionosphere. Because the planet is immersed in a plasma, this charge can flow away from it along the stellar magnetic field lines it successively contacts in its orbit. For sufficiently rapid orbital motion, a current system can be formed that is closed by Alfvenic disturbances that propagate along field lines away from the planet. Using a simple model for the wind from a Sun-like star, we survey the conditions under which Alfven wave emission can occur, and estimate the power radiated in the form of linear waves for a range of stellar, planetary, and wind properties. For a Jupiter-like planet in a close (a < 0.10 AU) orbit about a solar-type star, the emitted wave power can be as large as 1027 erg/s. While only a small influence on the planet's orbit, a wave power of this magnitude may have consequences for wind dynamics and localized heating of the stellar atmosphere. NCAR is sponsored by the NSF.

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