Related papers: An Earth-like stellar wind environment for Proxima…
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, possesses a weak intrinsic magnetic field and has only a very tenuous atmosphere (exosphere). These three conditions result in a direct coupling between the plasma emitted from the Sun (namely the…
Based on our previous work (Vidotto et al. 2009a), we investigate 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…
Cosmic rays can penetrate planetary atmospheres driving the formation of prebiotic molecules, which are important for the origin of life. We calculate the Galactic cosmic ray fluxes in the habitable zone of five nearby, well-studied…
Stellar rotation at early ages plays a crucial role in the survival of primordial atmospheres around Earth-mass exoplanets. Earth-like planets orbiting fast-rotating stars may undergo complete photoevaporation within the first few hundred…
Giant exoplanets on wide orbits have been directly imaged around young stars. If the thermal background in the mid-infrared can be mitigated, then exoplanets with lower masses can also be imaged. Here we present a ground-based mid-infrared…
This paper reports a blind search for magnetospheric emissions from planets around nearby stars. Young stars are likely to have much stronger stellar winds than the Sun, and because planetary magnetospheric emissions are powered by stellar…
Numerous numerical studies have been carried out in recent years that simulate different aspects of exoplanets' magnetosphere and stellar winds. These studies have focused primarily on hot Jupiters with sun-like stars. This study addresses…
The nearest stellar system consists of the stars Proxima, alpha Centauri A and B and at least one planet Proxima b. The habitability of Proxima b and any other planets are likely to be significantly influenced by the orbital evolution of…
Modeling the interior of exoplanets is essential to go further than the conclusions provided by mean density measurements. In addition to the still limited precision on the planets' fundamental parameters, models are limited by the…
We perform three-dimensional numerical simulations of stellar winds of early-M dwarf stars. Our simulations incorporate observationally reconstructed large-scale surface magnetic maps, suggesting that the complexity of the magnetic field…
We simulate the space environment around AU Microscopii b and the interaction between the magnetized stellar wind with a planetary atmospheric outflow for ambient stellar wind conditions and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) conditions. We also…
The scenario and efficiency of water transport by icy asteroids and comets are still amongst the most important unresolved questions of planetary systems. A better understanding of cometary dynamics in extrasolar systems shall provide…
A variety of terrestrial planets with different physical parameters and exotic atmospheres might plausibly exist outside our Solar System, waiting to be detected by the next generation of space-exploration missions. Some of these planets…
Proxima and Alpha Centauri AB have almost identical distances and proper motions with respect to the Sun. Although the probability of such similar parameters is in principle very low, the question as to whether they actually form a single…
Using the most recent kinematic and radial velocity data in the literature, we calculate the binding energy of Proxima Centauri relative to the center of mass of the Alpha Centauri system. When we adopt the centroids of the observed data,…
By means of numerical simulations, we investigate magnetized stellar winds of pre-main-sequence stars. In particular we analyze under which circumstances these stars will present elongated magnetic features (e.g., helmet streamers,…
We make a preliminary assessment on the habitability of potential rocky exoplanets around Alpha Centauri B. We use several indexes: the Earth Similarity Index, a mathematical model for photosynthesis, and a biological productivity model.…
We present a 3D study of the formation of refractory-rich exospheres around the rocky planets HD219134b and c. These exospheres are formed by surface particles that have been sputtered by the wind of the host star. The stellar wind…
To date, the ability for observers to reveal the composition or thermal structure of an exoplanet's atmosphere has rested on two techniques: high-contrast direct imaging and time-series observations of transiting exoplanets. The former is…
The precision of radial velocity (RV) measurements to detect indirectly planetary companions of nearby stars has improved to enable the discovery of extrasolar planets in the Neptune and Super-Earth mass range. Discoveries of Earth-like…