1. Magnetic field and wind of Kappa Ceti: towards the planetary habitability of the young Sun when life arose on Earth
- Author
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Nascimento Jr., J. -D. do, Vidotto, A. A., Folsom, P. Petit C., Castro, M., Marsden, S. C., Morin, J., de Mello, G. F. Porto, Meibom, S., Jeffers, S. V., Guinan, E., and Ribas, I.
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics - Abstract
We report magnetic field measurements for Kappa1~Cet, a proxy of the young Sun when life arose on Earth. We carry out an analysis of the magnetic properties determined from spectropolarimetric observations and reconstruct its large-scale surface magnetic field to derive the magnetic environment, stellar winds and particle flux permeating the interplanetary medium around Kappa1~Cet. Our results show a closer magnetosphere and mass-loss rate of Mdot = 9.7 x 10^{-13} Msol/yr, i.e., a factor 50 times larger than the current solar wind mass-loss rate, resulting in a larger interaction via space weather disturbances between the stellar wind and a hypothetical young-Earth analogue, potentially affecting the planet's habitability. Interaction of the wind from the young Sun with the planetary ancient magnetic field may have affected the young Earth and its life conditions, Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Published at the Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL): Manuscript #LET33582
- Published
- 2016
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