By monitoring the cosmos with a radio telescope array, an international team of scientists has detected radio bursts emanating from the constellation Bo枚tes 鈥 that could be the first radio emission collected from a planet beyond our solar system.
The team, led by Cornell postdoctoral researcher Jake D. Turner, Philippe Zarka of the Observatoire de Paris - Paris 麻豆视频 et Lettres University and Jean-Mathias Griessmeier of the Universit茅 d鈥橭rl茅ans will publish their findings in the forthcoming research section of , on Dec. 16.
鈥淲e present one of the first hints of detecting an exoplanet in the radio realm,鈥 Turner said. 鈥淭he signal is from the Tau Bo枚tes system, which contains a binary star and an exoplanet. We make the case for an emission by the planet itself. From the strength and polarization of the radio signal and the planet鈥檚 magnetic field, it is compatible with theoretical predictions.鈥
Among the co-authors is Turner鈥檚 postdoctoral advisor , the Harold Tanner Dean of the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频, and a professor of astronomy.
鈥淚f confirmed through follow-up observations,鈥 Jayawardhana said, 鈥渢his radio detection opens up a new window on exoplanets, giving us a novel way to examine alien worlds that are tens of light-years away.鈥
Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a radio telescope in the Netherlands, Turner and his colleagues uncovered emission bursts from a star-system hosting a so-called hot Jupiter, a gaseous giant planet that is very close to its own sun. The group also observed other potential exoplanetary radio-emission candidates in the 55 Cancri (in the constellation Cancer) and Upsilon Andromedae systems. Only the Tau Bo枚tes exoplanet system 鈥 about 51 light-years away 鈥 exhibited a significant radio signature, a unique potential window on the planet鈥檚 magnetic field.
Observing an exoplanet鈥檚 magnetic field helps astronomers decipher a planet鈥檚 interior and atmospheric properties, as well as the physics of star-planet interactions, said Turner, a member of Cornell鈥檚 .
Earth鈥檚 magnetic field protects it from solar wind dangers, keeping the planet habitable. 鈥淭he magnetic field of Earth-like exoplanets may contribute to their possible habitability,鈥 Turner said, 鈥渂y shielding their own atmospheres from solar wind and cosmic rays, and protecting the planet from atmospheric loss.鈥
Two years ago, Turner and his colleagues examined the radio emission signature of Jupiter and scaled those emissions to mimic the possible signatures from a distant Jupiter-like exoplanet. Those results became the template for searching radio emission from exoplanets 40 to 100 light-years away.
After poring over nearly 100-hours of radio observations, the researchers were able to find the expected hot Jupiter signature in Tau Bo枚tes. 鈥淲e learned from our own Jupiter what this kind of detection looks like. We went searching for it and we found it,鈥 Turner said.
The signature, though, is weak. 鈥淭here remains some uncertainty that the detected radio signal is from the planet. The need for follow-up observations is critical,鈥 he said.
Turner and his team have already begun a campaign using multiple radio telescopes to follow up on the signal from Tau Bo枚tes.
In addition to Turner, Jayawardhana, Griessmeier and Zarka, the co-authors are Laurent Lamy and Baptiste Cecconi of the Observatoire de Paris, France; Joseph Lazio from NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory; J. Emilio Enriquez and Imke de Pater from the University of California, Berkeley; Julien N. Girard from Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa; and Jonathan D. Nichols from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
Turner, who laid the groundwork for this research while earning his doctorate at the University of Virginia, received funding from the National Science Foundation.
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