Star-planet Magnetic Interaction

sketchfab

The film illustrates the transformation of magnetic field lines surrounding a scorching hot Jupiter as it revolves around its parent star. The simulation is built on an MHD model developed by Matsakos et al. (2015) and applied to the specific case of HD 189733, yielding results that reveal the lines of the magnetic field stretching along the planet's orbital direction due to intense radiation from the star. This phenomenon occurs as a direct consequence of gas evaporating from the planet itself, caused by the extreme irradiation emanating from the star (see this model). Here is a static representation of the same simulation. The soundtrack was recorded by me experimenting with a phone near the guitar bridge and incorporating various effects. References: Mignone et al., published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 170, Issue 1, pp. 228-242 (2007); Matsakos et al. (2015), featured in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Volume 578, id.A6, 17pp; Pillitteri et al. (2015) , published in The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 805, Issue 1, article id. 52, 18 pp