Atmospheric mass loss from hot Jupiters irradiated by stellar superflares

Abstract

Because of their activity, late-type stars are known to host powerful flares producing intense high-energy radiation on short time-scales that may significantly affect the atmosphere of nearby planets. We employ a one-dimensional aeronomic model to study the reaction of the upper atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD 209458b to the additional high-energy irradiation caused by a stellar flare. Atmospheric absorption of the additional energy produced during a flare leads to local atmospheric heating, accompanied by the formation of two propagating shock waves. We present estimates of the additional atmospheric loss occurring in response to the flare. We find the mass loss rate at the exobase level to significantly increase (3.8*10^10, 8*10^10, and 3.5*10^11 g s-1 for 10, 100, and 1000 times the high-energy flux of the quiet star, respectively) in comparison to that found considering the inactive star (2*10^10 g s-1).

arXiv comment8 pages, 4 figures

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• Irradiation-driven escape of primordial planetary atmospheres II. Evaporation efficiency of sub-Neptunes through hot Jupiters
• The impact of coronal mass ejections and flares on the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD189733b
• Irradiation-driven escape of primordial planetary atmospheres I. The ATES photoionization hydrodynamics code
• The JADE code: Coupling secular exoplanetary dynamics and photo-evaporation
• Effects of Radiation Pressure on the Evaporative Wind of HD 209458b
• On possible types of magnetospheres of hot Jupiters
• Stellar Flares versus Luminosity: XUV-induced Atmospheric Escape and Planetary Habitability
• X-ray emission in the enigmatic CVSO 30 system