Predicting low-frequency radio fluxes of known extrasolar planets

Context. Close-in giant extrasolar planets (''Hot Jupiters'') are believed to be strong emitters in the decametric radio range. Aims. We present the expected characteristics of the low-frequency magnetospheric radio emission of all currently known extrasolar planets, including the maximum emission frequency and the expected radio flux. We also discuss the escape of exoplanetary radio emission from the vicinity of its source, which imposes additional constraints on detectability. Methods. We compare the different predictions obtained with all four existing analytical models for all currently known exoplanets. We also take care to use realistic values for all input parameters. Results. The four different models for planetary radio emission lead to very different results. The largest fluxes are found for the magnetic energy model, followed by the CME model and the kinetic energy model (for which our results are found to be much less optimistic than those of previous studies). The unipolar interaction model does not predict any observable emission for the present exoplanet census. We also give estimates for the planetary magnetic dipole moment of all currently known extrasolar planets, which will be useful for other studies. Conclusions. Our results show that observations of exoplanetary radio emission are feasible, but that the number of promising targets is not very high. The catalog of targets will be particularly useful for current and future radio observation campaigns (e.g. with the VLA, GMRT, UTR-2 and with LOFAR).Comment: 4 figures; Table 1 is available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/475/35

VLBI observations of jupiter with the initial test station of LOFAR and the nancay decametric array

AIMS: To demonstrate and test the capability of the next generation of low-frequency radio telescopes to perform high resolution observations across intra-continental baselines. Jupiter's strong burst emission is used to perform broadband full signal cross-correlations on time intervals of up to hundreds of milliseconds. METHODS: Broadband VLBI observations at about 20 MHz on a baseline of ~50000 wavelengths were performed to achieve arcsecond angular resolution. LOFAR's Initial Test Station (LOFAR/ITS, The Netherlands) and the Nancay Decametric Array (NDA, France) digitize the measured electric field with 12 bit and 14 bit in a 40 MHz baseband. The fine structure in Jupiter's signal was used for data synchronization prior to correlation on the time-series data. RESULTS: Strong emission from Jupiter was detected during snapshots of a few seconds and detailed features down to microsecond time-scales were identified in dynamic spectra. Correlations of Jupiter's burst emission returned strong fringes on 1 ms time-scales over channels as narrow as a hundred kilohertz bandwidth. CONCLUSIONS: Long baseline interferometry is confirmed at low frequencies, in spite of phase shifts introduced by variations in ionospheric propagation characteristics. Phase coherence was preserved over tens to hundreds of milliseconds with a baseline of ~700 km. No significant variation with time was found in the correlations and an estimate for the fringe visibility of 1, suggested that the source was not resolved. The upper limit on the source region size of Jupiter Io-B S-bursts corresponds to an angular resolution of ~3 arcsec. Adding remote stations to the LOFAR network at baselines up to thousand kilometers will provide 10 times higher resolution down to an arcsecond.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Nigl, A., Zarka, P., Kuijpers, J., Falcke, H., Baehren, L., VLBI observations of Jupiter with the Initial Test Station of LOFAR and the Nancay Decametric Array, A&A, 471, 1099-1104, accepted on 31/05/200

Candidates for detecting exoplanetary radio emissions generated by magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

In this paper we consider the magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling at Jupiter-like exoplanets with internal plasma sources such as volcanic moons, and we have determined the best candidates for detection of these radio emissions by estimating the maximum spectral flux density expected from planets orbiting stars within 25 pc using data listed in the NASA/IPAC/NExScI Star and Exoplanet Database (NStED). In total we identify 91 potential targets, of which 40 already host planets and 51 have stellar X-ray luminosity 100 times the solar value. In general, we find that stronger planetary field strength, combined with faster rotation rate, higher stellar XUV luminosity, and lower stellar wind dynamic pressure results in higher radio power. The top two targets for each category are $\epsilon$ Eri and HIP 85523, and CPD-28 332 and FF And.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letter

Searching for Star-Planet interactions within the magnetosphere of HD 189733

HD 189733 is a K2 dwarf, orbited by a giant planet at 8.8 stellar radii. In order to study magnetospheric interactions between the star and the planet, we explore the large-scale magnetic field and activity of the host star. We collected spectra using the ESPaDOnS and the NARVAL spectropolarimeters, installed at the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii telescope and the 2-m Telescope Bernard Lyot at Pic du Midi, during two monitoring campaigns (June 2007 and July 2008). HD 189733 has a mainly toroidal surface magnetic field, having a strength that reaches up to 40 G. The star is differentially rotating, with latitudinal angular velocity shear of domega = 0.146 +- 0.049 rad/d, corresponding to equatorial and polar periods of 11.94 +- 0.16 d and 16.53 +- 2.43 d respectively. The study of the stellar activity shows that it is modulated mainly by the stellar rotation (rather than by the orbital period or the beat period between the stellar rotation and the orbital periods). We report no clear evidence of magnetospheric interactions between the star and the planet. We also extrapolated the field in the stellar corona and calculated the planetary radio emission expected for HD 189733b given the reconstructed field topology. The radio flux we predict in the framework of this model is time variable and potentially detectable with LOFAR

The Search for Signatures Of Transient Mass Loss in Active Stars

The habitability of an exoplanet depends on many factors. One such factor is the impact of stellar eruptive events on nearby exoplanets. Currently this is poorly constrained due to heavy reliance on solar scaling relationships and a lack of experimental evidence. Potential impacts of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), which are a large eruption of magnetic field and plasma from a star, are space weather and atmospheric stripping. A method for observing CMEs as they travel though the stellar atmosphere is the type II radio burst, and the new LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) provides a means for detection. We report on 15 hours of observation of YZ Canis Minoris (YZ CMi), a nearby M dwarf flare star, taken in LOFAR's beam-formed observation mode for the purposes of measuring transient frequency-dependent low frequency radio emission. The observations utilized Low-Band Antenna (10-90 MHz) or High-Band Antenna (110-190 MHz) for five three-hour observation periods. In this data set, there were no confirmed type II events in this frequency range. We explore the range of parameter space for type II bursts constrained by our observations Assuming the rate of shocks is a lower limit to the rate at which CMEs occur, no detections in a total of 15 hours of observation places a limit of $\nu_{type II} < 0.0667$ shocks/hr $\leq \nu_{CME}$ for YZ CMi due to the stochastic nature of the events and limits of observational sensitivity. We propose a methodology to interpret jointly observed flares and CMEs which will provide greater constraints to CMEs and test the applicability of solar scaling relations

A Blind Search for Magnetospheric Emissions from Planetary Companions to Nearby Solar-type Stars

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 winds, stronger stellar winds may enhance the radio luminosity of any orbiting planets. Using various stellar catalogs, we selected nearby stars (<~ 30 pc) with relatively young age estimates (< 3 Gyr). We constructed different samples from the stellar catalogs, finding between 100 and several hundred stars. We stacked images from the 74-MHz (4-m wavelength) VLA Low-frequency Sky Survey (VLSS), obtaining 3\sigma limits on planetary emission in the stacked images of between 10 and 33 mJy. These flux density limits correspond to average planetary luminosities less than 5--10 x 10^{23} erg/s. Using recent models for the scaling of stellar wind velocity, density, and magnetic field with stellar age, we estimate scaling factors for the strength of stellar winds, relative to the Sun, in our samples. The typical kinetic energy carried by the stellar winds in our samples is 15--50 times larger than that of the Sun, and the typical magnetic energy is 5--10 times larger. If we assume that every star is orbited by a Jupiter-like planet with a luminosity larger than that of the Jovian decametric radiation by the above factors, our limits on planetary luminosities from the stacking analysis are likely to be a factor of 10--100 above what would be required to detect the planets in a statistical sense. Similar statistical analyses with observations by future instruments, such as the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and the Long Wavelength Array (LWA), offer the promise of improvements by factors of 10--100.Comment: 11 pages; AASTeX; accepted for publication in A

Fatigue analysis of structures during random loadings

We have developed and described a special approach for long life fatigue analysis of welded structures under random multi-axial loadings, which has a real physical meaning and which is very easy to perform. The principal idea is to find an equivalent simple loading suitable to represent the real random loadingРазработан и описан специальный подход для анализа длительной усталости сварных конструкций при случайных многолетних аксиальных нагрузках, который имеет реальный физический смысл, и который очень легко выполнить. Основная идея заключается в том, чтобы найти подходящий эквивалент простой нагрузки, представить реальную случайную нагрузку с точки зрения повреждения на уровне материала и затем на уровне структуры.Розроблено і описано спеціальний підхід для аналізу тривалої втоми зварних конструкцій при випадкових багаторічних аксіальних навантаженнях, що має реальний фізичний зміст, і який дуже легко виконати. Основна ідея полягає в тому, щоб знайти підходящий еквівалент простого навантаження, представити реальне випадкове навантаження з точки зору пошкодження на рівні материалу і потім на рівні структури

Magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling at Jupiter-like exoplanets with internal plasma sources: implications for detectability of auroral radio emissions

In this paper we provide the first consideration of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling at Jupiter-like exoplanets with internal plasma sources such as volcanic moons. We estimate the radio power emitted by such systems under the condition of near-rigid corotation throughout the closed magnetosphere, in order to examine the behaviour of the best candidates for detection with next generation radio telescopes. We thus estimate for different stellar X-ray-UV (XUV) luminosity cases the orbital distances within which the ionospheric Pedersen conductance would be high enough to maintain near-rigid corotation, and we then consider the magnitudes of the large-scale magnetosphere-ionosphere currents flowing within the systems, and the resulting radio powers, at such distances. We also examine the effects of two key system parameters, i.e. the planetary angular velocity and the plasma mass outflow rate from sources internal to the magnetosphere. In all XUV luminosity cases studied, a significant number of parameter combinations within an order of magnitude of the jovian values are capable of producing emissions observable beyond 1 pc, in most cases requiring exoplanets orbiting at distances between ~1 and 50 AU, and for the higher XUV luminosity cases these observable distances can reach beyond ~50 pc for massive, rapidly rotating planets. The implication of these results is that the best candidates for detection of such internally-generated radio emissions are rapidly rotating Jupiter-like exoplanets orbiting stars with high XUV luminosity at orbital distances beyond ~1 AU, and searching for such emissions may offer a new method of detection of more distant-orbiting exoplanets.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures. In press at Mon. Not. R. Astron. So

Modelling the radio pulses of an ultracool dwarf

&lt;b&gt;Context:&lt;/b&gt; Recently, unanticipated magnetic activity in ultracool dwarfs (UCDs, spectral classes later than M7) has emerged from a number of radio observations. The highly (up to 100%) circularly polarized nature and high brightness temperature of the emission have been interpreted as requiring an effective amplification mechanism of the high-frequency electromagnetic waves − the electron cyclotron maser instability (ECMI). &lt;p/&gt;&lt;b&gt;Aims:&lt;/b&gt; We aim to understand the magnetic topology and the properties of the radio emitting region and associated plasmas in these ultracool dwarfs, interpreting the origin of radio pulses and their radiation mechanism. &lt;p/&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; An active region model was built, based on the rotation of the UCD and the ECMI mechanism. &lt;p/&gt;&lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; The high degree of variability in the brightness and the diverse profile of pulses can be interpreted in terms of a large-scale hot active region with extended magnetic structure existing in the magnetosphere of TVLM 513-46546. We suggest the time profile of the radio light curve is in the form of power law in the model. Combining the analysis of the data and our simulation, we can determine the loss-cone electrons have a density in the range of 1.25 × 105−5 × 105 cm-3 and temperature between 107 and 5 × 107 K. The active region has a size &#60;1 RJup, while the pulses produced by the ECMI mechanism are from a much more compact region (e.g. ~0.007 RJup). A surface magnetic field strength of ≈7000 G is predicted. &lt;p/&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; The active region model is applied to the radio emission from TVLM 513-46546, in which the ECMI mechanism is responsible for the radio bursts from the magnetic tubes and the rotation of the dwarf can modulate the integral of flux with respect to time. The radio emitting region consists of complicated substructures. With this model, we can determine the nature (e.g. size, temperature, density) of the radio emitting region and plasma. The magnetic topology can also be constrained. We compare our predicted X-ray flux with Chandra X-ray observation of TVLM 513-46546. Although the X-ray detection is only marginally significant, our predicted flux is significantly lower than the observed flux. Further multi-wavelength observations will help us better understand the magnetic field structure and plasma behavior on the ultracool dwarf