# Chasing star-planet magnetic interactions: the case of Kepler-78

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method to analyze star-planet magnetic interactions (SPMI) using Kepler-78 as a case study, demonstrating the potential to detect and predict SPMI signals through modeling stellar magnetic topology and energy flux.

## Contribution

The paper presents a novel approach to characterize and predict SPMI signals in compact star-planet systems, applied specifically to Kepler-78, combining magnetic topology modeling with energy flux analysis.

## Key findings

- Energy flux densities up to a few kW/m^2 can be channeled towards the star.
- SPMI signals may be detectable in activity tracers like Hα.
- The method predicts the temporal modulation of SPMI signals.

## Abstract

Observational evidence of star-planet magnetic interactions (SPMI) in compact exo-systems have been looked for in the past decades. Indeed planets in close-in orbit can be magnetically connected to their host star, and channel Alfv\'en waves carrying large amounts of energy towards the central star. The strength and temporal modulation of SPMIs are primarily set by the magnetic topology of the host star and the orbital characteristics of the planet. As a result, SPMI signals can be modulated over the rotational period of the star, the orbital period of the planet, or a complex combination of the two. The detection of SPMI thus have to rely on multiple-epochs and multiple-wavelengths observational campaigns. We present a new method to characterize SPMIs and apply it to Kepler-78, a late G star with a super-Earth on an 8.5 hours orbit. We model the corona of Kepler-78 using the large-scale magnetic topology of the star observed with Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging. We show that the closeness of Kepler-78b allows the interaction to channel energy flux densities up to a few kW m$^{-2}$ towards the central star. We show that this flux is large enough to be detectable in classical activity tracers such as H$\alpha$. It is nonetheless too weak to explain the modulation observed by \citet{Moutou2016}. We furthermore demonstrate how to predict the temporal modulation of SPMI signals in observed systems such as Kepler-78. The methodology presented here thus paves the road towards denser, specific observational campaigns that would allow a proper identification of SPMIs in compact star-planet systems.