Descripción del proyecto
El efecto de las estrellas sobre los exoplanetas
Los exoplanetas tienen una relación complicada con las estrellas que orbitan. La atmósfera superior de los exoplanetas a pequeñas distancias orbitales de sus estrellas está sometida a radiaciones energéticas intensas y a un poderoso bombardeo de partículas que salen de estas estrellas. Se cree que las aportaciones de energía estelar pueden resultar en la pérdida de masa atmosférica alrededor de estos exoplanetas. Dado que el escape atmosférico influye en la evolución planetaria y en la capacidad de un exoplaneta para sustentar la vida, entenderlo es fundamental. En el proyecto ASTROFLOW, financiado con fondos europeos, se desarrollan modelos sofisticados que integran los flujos estelares y el escape planetario. Además, se compararán los resultados de los modelos con los datos de las observaciones. Estos modelos nuevos servirán de ayuda para las evaluaciones de futuros exoplanetas.
Objetivo
ASTROFLOW aims to make ground-breaking progress in our physical understanding of exoplanetary mass loss, by quantifying the influence of stellar outflows on atmospheric escape of close-in exoplanets. Escape plays a key role in planetary evolution, population, and potential to develop life. Stellar irradiation and outflows affect planetary mass loss: irradiation heats planetary atmospheres, which inflate and more likely escape; outflows cause pressure confinement around otherwise freely escaping atmospheres. This external pressure can increase, reduce or even suppress escape rates; its effects on exoplanetary mass loss remain largely unexplored due to the complexity of such interactions. I will fill this knowledge gap by developing a novel modelling framework of atmospheric escape that will, for the first time, consider the effects of realistic stellar outflows on exoplanetary mass loss. My expertise in stellar wind theory and 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations is crucial for producing the next-generation models of planetary escape. My framework will consist of state-of-the-art, time-dependent, 3D simulations of stellar outflows (Method 1), which will be coupled to novel 3D simulations of atmospheric escape (Method 2). My models will account for the major underlying physical processes of mass loss. With this, I will determine the response of planetary mass loss to realistic stellar particle, magnetic and radiation environments and will characterise the physical conditions of the escaping material. I will compute how its extinction varies during transit and compare synthetic line profiles to atmospheric escape observations from, eg, Hubble and our NASA cubesat CUTE. Strong synergy with upcoming observations (JWST, TESS, SPIRou, CARMENES) also exists. Determining the lifetime of planetary atmospheres is essential to understanding populations of exoplanets. ASTROFLOW’s work will be the foundation for future research of how exoplanets evolve under mass-loss processes.
Ámbito científico
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
2311 EZ Leiden
Países Bajos