Planets, Planetary Nebulae, and Intermediate Luminosity Optical Transients (ILOTs)

TL;DR

This paper reviews how planets influence stellar evolution, potentially causing observable optical transients and shaping planetary nebulae, highlighting the role of planetary interactions and the concept of Jsolated stars with lower mass loss rates.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that planetary interactions can produce intermediate luminosity optical transients and shape planetary nebulae, emphasizing the significance of Jsolated stars with reduced mass loss.

Findings

Planetary destruction can produce observable ILOT events.

Planet interactions influence the shape of elliptical planetary nebulae.

Jsolated stars likely have lower mass loss rates on the giant branches.

Abstract

I review some aspects related to the influence of planets on the evolution of stars before and beyond the main sequence. Some processes include the tidal destruction of a planet on to a very young main sequence star, on to a low mass main sequence star, and on to a brown dwarf. This process releases gravitational energy that might be observed as a faint intermediate luminosity optical transient (ILOT) event. I then summarize the view that some elliptical planetary nebulae are shaped by planets. When the planet interacts with a low mass upper asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star it both enhances the mass loss rate and shapes the wind to form an elliptical planetary nebula, mainly by spinning up the envelope and by exciting waves in the envelope. If no interaction with a companion, stellar or sub-stellar, takes place beyond the main sequence, the star is termed a Jsolated star, and its mass loss rates on the giant branches are likely to be much lower than what is traditionally assumed.