Star-exoplanet interactions: A growing interdisciplinary field in heliophysics

Abstract

Traditionally, heliophysics is characterized as the study of the near-Earth space environment, where plasmas and neutral gases originating from the Earth, the Sun, and other solar system bodies interact in ways that are detectable only through in-situ or close-range (usually within ∼10 AU) remote sensing. As a result, heliophysics has data from the space environment around a handful of solar system objects, in particular the Sun and Earth. Comparatively, astrophysics has data from an extensive array of objects, but is more limited in temporal, spatial, and wavelength information from any individual object. Thus, our understanding of planetary space environments as a complex, multi-dimensional network of specific interacting systems may in the past have seemed to have little to do with the highly diverse space environments detected through astrophysical methods. Recent technological advances have begun to bridge this divide. Exoplanetary studies are opening up avenues to study planetary environments beyond our solar system, with missions like Kepler, TESS, and JWST, along with increasing capabilities of ground-based observations. At the same time, heliophysics studies are pushing beyond the boundaries of our heliosphere with Voyager, IBEX, and the future IMAP mission.The interdisciplinary field of star-exoplanet interactions is a critical, growing area of study that enriches heliophysics. A multidisciplinary approach to heliophysics enables us to better understand universal processes that operate in diverse environments, as well as the evolution of our solar system and extreme space weather. The expertise, data, theory, and modeling tools developed by heliophysicists are crucial in understanding the space environments of exoplanets, their host stars, and their potential habitability. The mutual benefit that heliophysics and exoplanetary studies offer each other depends on strong, continuing solar system-focused and Earth-focused heliophysics studies. The heliophysics discipline requires new targeted funding to support inter-divisional opportunities, including small multi-disciplinary research projects, large collaborative research teams, and observations targeting the heliophysics of planetary and exoplanet systems. Here we discuss areas of heliophysics-relevant exoplanetary research, observational opportunities and challenges, and ways to promote the inclusion of heliophysics within the wider exoplanetary community.

Exploring the Effects of Stellar Magnetism on the Potential Habitability of Exoplanets

“…We add an additional 15 CHZ planets from The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, who use similar techniques to Hill et al (2023) It should be noted that transient stellar activity, such as large stellar flares and CMEs, can also have a major impact on planetary conditions, particularly for those close-orbiting planets around very active stars, e.g., Proxima Centauri (Ribas et al 2016). The enhanced EUV and X-ray flux from strong flares (e.g., Airapetian et al 2020;Sciola et al 2021;Garcia-Sage et al 2023;Varela & Pantellini 2023), and the compression of the planetary magnetospheres caused by large CMEs coupled to atmospheric loss (see Garraffo et al 2016;Garcia-Sage et al 2017) can further influence the potential habitability of exoplanets. Such considerations are beyond the scope of the present work, but are important factors in a full understanding of planetary habitability even for those planets that meet the conditions set out in the following sections.…”

“…Planetary habitability is not expected to be viable around a magnetically active star without the protection of a substantial planetary magnetic field (Airapetian et al 2020;Garcia-Sage et al 2023), although the presence of a planetary magnetic field may under high stellar activity contribute to enhanced atmospheric loss, thereby actually compromising potential habitability (see Brain 2021). Understanding the possible habitability of such planets, therefore, requires a deeper knowledge of how the stars and planets interact and, in particular, what role magnetic fields play in this interaction.…”

The importance of recruitment and retention in Heliophysics: it’s not just a pipeline problem

“…How we build collaborative teams, mission teams, proposal teams, and even the selection of conference coordinators, chairs, and speakers impacts who can participate in science. Perhaps even more importantly, this also determines who drives the conversation about how our science questions should evolve (Cooke and Hilton, 2015;Garcia-Sage et al, 2020).…”

“…Interdisciplinary expertise is required to understand the interconnectedness of the heliosphere. Therefore, making it easy to participate in multidisciplinary work is necessary for Heliophysics to flourish beyond the advancements made in the past decades (Garcia-Sage et al, 2020). The high-level best practices in the Science of Team Science lead to effective teams, improved creativity, and innovative scientific results.…”

The Importance of Policies: It’s not just a pipeline problem

“…How we build collaborative teams, mission teams, proposal teams, and even the selection of conference coordinators, chairs, and speakers impacts who can participate in science. Perhaps even more importantly this also determines who drives the conversation about how our science questions should evolve [3,4].…”