Electron-cyclotron maser emission from white-dwarf pairs and white-dwarf planetary systems

Abstract

By analogy to Jovian radio emissions powered by the electromagnetic interaction between Jupiter and its moons, we propose that close magnetic-nonmagnetic white-dwarf pairs and white-dwarf planetary systems are strong radio sources. A simple model is developed to predict the flux densities of radio emission generated by a loss-cone-driven electron-cyclotron maser. The radio emission from these systems has high brightness temperatures, is highly polarized, and varies on a periodic cycle following the orbital rotation. Masers from magnetic-nonmagnetic white-dwarf pairs, with orbital periods <10 min, are expected to be detectable over a wide range of radio frequencies. Terrestrial planets in close orbits about magnetic white dwarfs, with orbital periods $\la 30$ hr, can also produce detectable radio emission, thus providing a means to identify Earth-sized extrasolar planets.

13 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS

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• Dependence of CMI Growth Rates on Electron Velocity Distributions and Perturbation by Solitary Waves
• Modelling the radio pulses of an ultracool dwarf
• Survivability of radio-loud planetary cores orbiting white dwarfs
• The Coherent Radio Emission from the RS CVn Binary HR 1099
• Unipolar Inductor Model coupled to GW emission: energy budget and model application to RX J0806+15 and RX J1914+24
• Detecting exoplanets with FAST?
• Star-Planet Interactions in the Radio Domain: Prospect for Their Detection
• A search for electron cyclotron maser emission from compact binaries
• Magnetic Interaction in Ultra-compact Binary Systems
• Revealing the nature of long-period transients with space-based gravitational-wave interferometers
• Spectropolarimetry of synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons with anisotropic pitch-angle and various energy distributions
• The Decline and Fall of ROME. V. A Preliminary Search for Star-Disrupted Planet Interactions and Coronal Activity at 5 GHz Among White Dwarfs within 25 pc
• A Falsifiable Timing Test for the Double-White-Dwarf Model of Long-Period Transients