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MHD study of extreme space weather conditions for exoplanets with Earth-like magnetospheres: On habitability conditions and radio-emission
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  • Jacobo Varela Rodriguez,
  • Allan Sasha Brun,
  • Philippe Zarka,
  • Antoine Strugarek,
  • Filippo G. Pantellini,
  • V. Reville
Jacobo Varela Rodriguez
Universidad Carlos III

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Allan Sasha Brun
Observatoire de Paris / CEA
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Philippe Zarka
Observatoire de Paris
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Antoine Strugarek
DRF/IRFU/DAp/LDE3 CEA Saclay
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Filippo G. Pantellini
Observatoire de Meudon - Paris
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V. Reville
Universite Toulouse III
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Abstract

The present study aims at characterizing the habitability conditions of exoplanets with an Earth-like magnetosphere inside the habitable zone of M and F stars, caused by the direct deposition of the stellar wind on the exoplanet surface. Also, the radio emission generated by exoplanets with a Earth-like magnetosphere is calculated for different space weather conditions. The study is based on a set of MHD simulations performed by the code PLUTO. Exoplanets hosted by M stars at $0.2$ au are protected from the stellar wind during regular and CME-like space weather conditions if the star rotation period is slower than $3$ days. Exoplanets hosted by a F stars at $\geq 2.5$ au are protected during regular space weather conditions, but a stronger magnetic field compared to the Earth is mandatory if the exoplanet is close to the inner edge of the star habitable zone ($2.5$ au) during CMEs. The range of radio emission values calculated in the simulations are consistent with the scaling proposed by \citeA{Zarka8} during regular and common CME-like space weather conditions. If the radio telescopes measure a relative low radio emission signal with small variability from an exoplanet, that may indicate favorable exoplanet habitability conditions. The radio emission power calculated for exoplanets with an Earth-like magnetosphere is in the range of $3 \cdot 10^{7}$ to $2 \cdot 10^{10}$ W for SW dynamic pressures between $1.5$ to $100$ nPa and IMF intensities between $50$ - $250$ nT, and is below the sensitivity threshold of present radio telescopes at parsec distances.