Collaborative Research: RUI: Star-Planet Interactions Around Low-mass Stars

科罗拉多大学和瓦萨学院的一个合作小组将研究太阳系外发现的行星的磁场。磁场塑造了行星随时间演变的方式。然而，目前几乎所有太阳系外的行星的磁场特性都是未知的。当行星和恒星的磁场相互作用时，它们会产生无线电波。通过探测这些无线电波，该项目可以测量行星的磁场。调查人员将搜索这些无线电波，并测量它们的特性。该团队还将制作计算机模型，利用恒星和行星的磁性来解释无线电波的亮度。这项研究将培养未来的天文学家，并吸引本科生从事科学事业。该团队将通过一个天文馆项目与广大观众分享这项研究，该项目有英语和西班牙语两种版本。他们还将根据研究结果制作高中水平的教育材料。该项目将通过相互关联的观测和理论研究来研究低质量恒星的磁星-行星相互作用。调查人员将跟进NASA凌日系外行星调查卫星(TESS)任务中新发现的行星系统。TESS已经使已知行星系统的数量成倍增加，预计这些系统具有可探测到的射电恒星-行星相互作用的特征。这些行星的轨道周期一天不到1周，这使得使用地面望远镜观测完整的轨道周期是可行的。望远镜将被用来搜索低质量恒星与其最内部行星之间的磁相互作用所产生的周期性射电辐射。该团队将通过塞曼拓宽和改进行星半径，通过凌日光度测量来表征目标恒星的磁场，从而填补知识空白。为了解释射电观测并更好地了解近距离系外行星为射电相互作用提供动力的能力，研究人员将对磁活动和非活动恒星主机的环行行星磁/等离子体环境进行3D建模。这些模拟将描述行星大气质量损失的特征，它对恒星和行星磁特性的依赖，以及这些对无线电发射产生的影响。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A collaborative team from the University of Colorado and Vassar College will study magnetic fields of planets found beyond the Solar System. Magnetic fields shape how planets evolve over time. However, magnetic field properties are currently unknown for almost all planets outside our solar system. When the magnetic fields of planets and stars interact, they produce radio waves. By detecting these radio waves, the project can measure the magnetic fields of planets. The investigators will search for these radio waves and measure their properties. The team will also make computer models to explain the brightness of the radio waves using the magnetic properties of star and planet. This research will train future astronomers and engage undergraduate students in scientific careers. The team will share this research with a broad audience with a planetarium program, available in both English and Spanish. They will also create high-school-level educational materials based on the research results.This project will examine magnetic star-planet interactions from low-mass stars through interconnected observational and theoretical investigations. The investigators will follow-up newly discovered planetary systems from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. TESS has multiplied the population of known planetary systems predicted to have a detectable signature of radio star-planet interaction. These planets have orbital periods of less than 1 one day, making it feasible to observe complete orbital cycles using ground-based telescopes. Telescopes will be employed to search for periodic radio emission induced by magnetic interactions between low-mass stars and their innermost planets. The team will close knowledge gaps by characterizing the target stars’ magnetic fields via Zeeman broadening and improving planetary radii via transit photometry. To interpret the radio observations and better understand the ability of close-in exoplanets to power radio interactions, the investigators will carry out 3D modeling of the circumplanetary magnetic/plasma environment for magnetically active and inactive stellar hosts. These simulations will characterize planetary atmospheric mass-loss, its dependence on stellar and planetary magnetic properties, and what effect these have on the generation of radio emission.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.