Related papers: Electrodynamics on extrasolar giant planets
(abridged abstract) Theoretical arguments indicate that close-in terrestial exoplanets may have weak magnetic fields, especially in the case of planets more massive than Earth (super-Earths). Planetary magnetic fields, however, constitute…
Magnetic fields are expected to impact the atmospheric dynamics of hot and ultra-hot Jupiters due to their increased ionization fractions, compared to that of cooler exoplanets, but our ability to model these magnetic processes is limited…
We present a comprehensive study of the abundance of carbon dioxide in exoplanetary atmospheres in hot, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres. We construct novel analytical models of systems in chemical equilibrium that include carbon monoxide,…
Upper atmospheres of Hot Jupiters are subject to extreme radiation conditions that can result in rapid atmospheric escape. The composition and structure of the upper atmospheres of these planets are affected by the high-energy spectrum of…
The potential habitability of a terrestrial planet is usually defined by the possible existence of liquid water on its surface. The potential presence of liquid water depends on many factors such as, most importantly, surface temperatures.…
Recent exoplanet statistics indicate that photo-evaporation has a great impact on the mass and bulk composition of close-in low-mass planets. While there are many studies addressing photo-evaporation of hydrogen-rich or water-rich…
Atmospheric mass-loss from Hot-jupiters can be large due to the close proximity of these planets to their host star and the strong radiation the planetary atmosphere receives. On Earth, a major contribution to the acceleration of…
Recent studies have shown that large exomoons can form in the accretion disks around super-Jovian extrasolar planets. These planets are abundant at about 1 AU from Sun-like stars, which makes their putative moons interesting for studies of…
Many parameters constraining the spectral appearance of exoplanets are still poorly understood. We therefore study the properties of irradiated exoplanet atmospheres over a wide parameter range including metallicity, C/O ratio and host…
Gas planets in close proximity to their host stars experience photoevaporative mass loss. The energy-limited escape concept is generally used to derive estimates for the planetary mass-loss rates. Our photoionization hydrodynamics…
We investigate the loss rates of the hydrogen atmospheres of terrestrial planets with a range of masses and orbital distances by assuming a stellar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) luminosity that is 100 times stronger than that of the current…
Gas giant exoplanets orbiting at close distances to the parent star are subjected to large radiation and stellar wind fluxes. In this paper, hydrodynamic simulations of the planetary upper atmosphere and its interaction with the stellar…
The discovery of thousands of highly irradiated, low-mass, exoplanets has led to the idea that atmospheric escape is an important process that can drive their evolution. Of particular interest is the inference from recent exoplanet…
In a paper of 1978, Eugene Parker postulated the need for hydraulic downward motion to explain magnetic flux concentrations at the solar surface. A similar process has recently also been seen in simplified (e.g., isothermal) models of flux…
(abridged abstract) Theoretical arguments indicate that close-in terrestial exoplanets may have weak magnetic fields. As described in the companion article (Paper I), a weak magnetic field results in a high flux of galactic cosmic rays to…
The extent to which a magnetosphere protects its planetary atmosphere from stellar wind ablation depends upon how well it prevents energy and momentum exchange with the atmosphere and how well it traps otherwise escaping plasma. We focus on…
The tidal heating of hypothetical rocky (or terrestrial) extra-solar planets spans a wide range of values depending on stellar masses and initial orbits. Tidal heating may be sufficiently large (in many cases, in excess of radiogenic…
In the present series of papers we propose a consistent description of the mass loss process. To study the effects of intrinsic magnetic field of a close-orbit giant exoplanet (so-called Hot Jupiter) on the atmospheric material escape and…
The detections of atomic hydrogen, heavy atoms and ions surrounding the extrasolar giant planet (EGP) HD209458b constrain the composition, temperature and density profiles in its upper atmosphere. Thus the observations provide guidance for…
The close-in extrasolar giant planets (CEGPs) reside in irradiated environments much more intense than that of the giant planets in our solar system. The high UV irradiance strongly influences their photochemistry and the general current…