In:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press (OUP), Vol. 506, No. 2 ( 2021-07-15), p. 1697-1703
Abstract:
Accompanying the mounting detections of planets orbiting white dwarfs and giant stars are questions about their physical history and evolution, particularly regarding detectability of their atmospheres and potential for habitability. Here we determine how the size of planetary magnetospheres evolves over time from the end of the main sequence through to the white dwarf phase due to the violent winds of red giant and asymptotic giant branch stars. By using a semi-analytic prescription, we investigate the entire relevant phase space of planet type, planet orbit, and stellar host mass ($1\!-\!7\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$). We find that a planetary magnetosphere will always be quashed at some point during the giant branch phases unless the planet’s magnetic field strength is at least two orders of magnitude higher than Jupiter’s current value. We also show that the time variation of the stellar wind and density generates a net increase in wind ram pressure and does not allow a magnetosphere to be maintained at any time for field strengths less than 10−5 T (0.1 G). This lack of protection hints that currently potentially habitable planets orbiting white dwarfs would have been previously inhospitable.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0035-8711
,
1365-2966
DOI:
10.1093/mnras/stab1772
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2016084-7
SSG:
16,12
