2010/07/21 by A. A. Vidotto, M. Opher, V. Jatenco-Pereira +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Coronal mass ejection #Magnetic field #Magnetosphere #Physics #Planet #Rotation period #Solar wind #Stars #Stellar magnetic field #Stellar rotation #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #T Tauri star #astro-ph.EP #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/720/2/1262
21 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables (emulateapj.cls). Accepted for publication in the ApJ
arxiv created 2010/07/21 · openalex publication_date 2010/08/19 · arxiv updated 2015/05/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Based on our previous work, we investigate here the effects on the wind and magnetospheric structures of weak-lined T Tauri stars due to a misalignment between the axis of rotation of the star and its magnetic dipole moment vector. In such a configuration, the system loses the axisymmetry presented in the aligned case, requiring a fully three-dimensional (3D) approach. We perform 3D numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations of stellar winds and study the effects caused by different model parameters, namely the misalignment angle θ t , the stellar period of rotation, the plasma-β, and the heating index γ. Our simulations take into account the interplay between the wind and the stellar magnetic field during the time evolution. The system reaches a periodic behavior with the same rotational period of the star. We show that the magnetic field lines present an oscillatory pattern. Furthermore, we obtain that by increasing θ t , the wind velocity increases, especially in the case of strong magnetic field and relatively rapid stellar rotation. Our 3D, time-dependent wind models allow us to study the interaction of a magnetized wind with a magnetized extrasolar planet. Such interaction gives rise to reconnection, generating electrons that propagate along the planet's magnetic field lines and produce electron cyclotron radiation at radio wavelengths. The power released in the interaction depends on the planet's magnetic field intensity, its orbital radius, and on the stellar wind local characteristics. We find that a close-in Jupiter-like planet orbiting at 0.05 AU presents a radio power that is ∼5 orders of magnitude larger than the one observed in Jupiter, which suggests that the stellar wind from a young star has the potential to generate strong planetary radio emission that could be detected in the near future with LOFAR. This radio power varies according to the phase of rotation of the star. For three selected simulations, we find a variation of the radio power of a factor 1.3–3.7, depending on θ t . Moreover, we extend the investigation done in Vidotto et al. and analyze whether winds from misaligned stellar magnetospheres could cause a significant effect on planetary migration. Compared to the aligned case, we show that the timescale τ w for an appreciable radial motion of the planet is shorter for larger misalignment angles. While for the aligned case τ w ≃ 100 Myr, for a stellar magnetosphere tilted by θ t = 30°, τ w ranges from ∼40 to 70 Myr for a planet located at a radius of 0.05 AU. Further reduction on τ w might occur for even larger misalignment angles and/or different wind parameters.