Abstract
Observations of exoplanets open a new area of scientific activity and the structure of exoplanet magnetospheres is an important part of this area. Here we use symmetry arguments and experiences in spherical dynamo modeling to obtain the set of possible magnetic configurations for exoplanets and their corresponding host stars. The main part of our results is that the possible choice is much richer than the basic dipole magnetic field of both exoplanets and stars. Other options, for example, are quadrupole configurations or mixed parity solutions. Expected configurations of current sheets for the above mentioned exoplanet host star systems are presented as well.
Highlights
Exoplanets is a new area for scientific investigations that accumulates ideas from various more traditional scientific branches [1,2,3,4]
It seems very attractive to suppose that the exoplanets have magnetic fields that are to some extent similar to the geomagnetic field as well as the stars in the planetary system with particular exoplanets having a magnetic field that is to some extent similar to the solar magnetic field [5,6]
Looking for a way to resolve to some extent the problem, we suggest to base a list of possible magnetic configurations relevant to the problem on the symmetry properties of spherical dynamos as well as experiences in the field of playing parameters in quite a rich history of spherical dynamo modeling
Summary
Exoplanets is a new area for scientific investigations that accumulates ideas from various more traditional scientific branches [1,2,3,4]. We extrapolate the ideas together with available knowledge concerning planetary magnetism in the solar system to the much wider sample of exoplanets. The available experiences in laboratory dynamo experiments confirm the point that moderate changes in delicate properties of the flow can result in a substantial modification in dynamo-driven magnetic configuration, see, e.g., [9]. Looking for a way to resolve to some extent the problem, we suggest to base a list of possible magnetic configurations relevant to the problem on the symmetry properties of spherical dynamos as well as experiences in the field of playing parameters in quite a rich history of spherical dynamo modeling. The aim of our paper is to present a variety of options known from the experiences in dynamo modeling and briefly explain how dramatic the corresponding changes required could be in the basic concept of magnetospheric studies for exoplanet-star systems. It would be risky to insist that dynamo successfully explains any particular observation in the field the general progress here looks remarkable
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