Spectropolarimetric characterisation of exoplanet host stars in preparation of the Ariel mission. Magnetic environment of HD 63433

TL;DR

This study characterizes the magnetic environment of the exoplanet host star HD 63433 using spectropolarimetry, revealing a complex magnetic topology that influences planetary space weather and potential atmospheric evolution, aiding future exoplanet studies with Ariel.

Contribution

First detailed magnetic topology reconstruction of HD 63433, informing exoplanet atmospheric studies and stellar magnetic environment modeling for Ariel mission targets.

Findings

Magnetic field strength of 24 G with complex topology.

10% of innermost planetary orbit inside the Alfvén surface.

Potential for magnetic connections and bow shocks affecting exoplanets.

Abstract

The accurate characterisation of the stellar magnetism of planetary host stars has been gaining momentum, especially in the context of transmission spectroscopy investigations of exoplanets. Indeed, the magnetic field regulates the amount of energetic radiation and stellar wind impinging on planets, as well as the presence of inhomogeneities on the stellar surface that hinder the precise extraction of the planetary atmospheric absorption signal. We initiated a spectropolarimetric campaign to unveil the magnetic field properties of known exoplanet hosting stars included in the current list of potential Ariel targets. In this work, we focus on HD 63433, a young solar-like star hosting two sub-Neptunes and an Earth-sized planet. These exoplanets orbit within 0.15 au from the host star and have likely experienced different atmospheric evolutionary paths. We analysed optical spectropolarimetric data collected with ESPaDOnS, HARPSpol, and Neo-Narval to compute the magnetic activity indices (log R'_HK , H$\alpha$, and Ca ii infrared triplet), measure the longitudinal magnetic field, and reconstruct the large-scale magnetic topology via Zeeman-Doppler imaging (ZDI). The magnetic field map was then employed to simulate the space environment in which the exoplanets orbit. The reconstructed stellar magnetic field has an average strength of 24 G and it features a complex topology with a dominant toroidal component, in agreement with other stars of a similar spectral type and age. Our simulations of the stellar environment locate 10% of the innermost planetary orbit inside the Alfv\'en surface and, thus, brief magnetic connections between the planet and the star can occur. The outer planets are outside the Alfv\'en surface and a bow shock between the stellar wind and the planetary magnetosphere could potentially form.