Kiel 2004 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help
EP: Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 9: Poster-2
EP 9.12: Poster
Tuesday, March 9, 2004, 17:45–19:30, Foyer
Numerical Simulations of the Magnetospheric Interaction in Extrasolar Planetary Systems — •Sabine Preusse1, Andreas Kopp1, Jörg Büchner1, and Uwe Motschmann2 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie — 2Institut für Theoretische Physik, TU Braunschweig
Since 1995 approximately 120 extrasolar planets have been discovered. In contrast to the solar system, with Mercury as the closest planet to the Sun with a semi-major axis of 0.387 AU (∼ 83 R⊙), several extrasolar planets are closer to their star by a factor of 10 and more (e.g. OGLE-TR-56 b ∼ 5 R⋆). These extremely small distances put focus on the star-planet interaction in a so far unknown parameter regime. This allows for the possibility of a lot of new and even unexpected magnetic interaction features. However, up to now, models for this kind of interactions still lack numerical simulations.
Our goal is to derive a numerical magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) model in which magnetospheres of close-in extrasolar planets can be described and the interaction of the stellar wind with the planet can be modeled with realistic parameters. We will present the first results of these simulations.