Stellar activity effects on the atmospheric escape of hot Jupiters

Transit observations have revealed the existence of atmospheric escape in several hot Jupiters. High energy photons from the host star heat the upper atmosphere and drive the hydrodynamic escape. The escaping atmosphere can interact with the stellar wind from the host star. We run radiation hydrodynamics simulations with non-equilibrium chemistry to investigate the wind effects on the escape and the transit signature. Our simulations follow the planetary outflow driven by the photoionization heating and the wind interaction in a dynamically coupled, self-consistent manner. We show that the planetary mass-loss rate is almost independent of the wind strength, which however affects the Ly-α transit depth considerably. But the Hα transit depth is almost independent of the wind strength because it is largely caused by the lower hot layer. We argue that observations of both lines can solve the degeneracy between the EUV flux from the host and the wind strength.