Speaker
Description
Energetic particle events occur when charged particles are accelerated to near-relativistic energies during stellar flares or coronal mass ejections, and they help shape planetary atmospheres through erosion and chemistry. Traditional stellar activity probes, such as optical and soft X-ray flares, trace thermal plasma and are effectively blind to escaping relativistic particle beams. Based on solar studies, we know that a characteristic radio burst (called a Type III burst) provides an unambiguous signature of energetic electrons propagating along open magnetic field lines. However, there has not been a detection of an extrasolar Type III burst. In this talk, I will present the first extrasolar analogue of a solar Type III burst, which signals the presence of escaping energetic particles. I will present estimates of the incidence of energetic particle events on M dwarfs compared to solar values, together with the approximate particle energy flux in the habitable zones of M dwarfs. This detection demonstrates that stellar energetic particle events can now be identified through radio observations, opening a direct observational pathway to their impact on exoplanetary environments.
| Talk category | Plenary |
|---|---|
| Second preference | NOVA Network 2 |
