A Radio Search for Star-Planet Interaction in TOI-540 and SPECULOOS-3

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ceballos, Kevin N. Ortiz, Cendes, Yvette, Berger, Edo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ceballos, Kevin N. Ortiz
Cendes, Yvette
Berger, Edo
author_facet Ceballos, Kevin N. Ortiz
Cendes, Yvette
Berger, Edo
contents We present the first targeted centimeter-band radio observations of two recently-discovered exoplanet systems that are prime candidates for magnetic star-planet interaction (SPI): TOI-540 and SPECULOOS-3. The targets were selected due to the small orbital separation of their known planets, as well as for indications of stellar magnetic activity, given that for SPI radio emission may be strongest when a sufficiently magnetized star hosts a close-in planet. The deep, multi-epoch Very Large Array (SPECULOOS-3) and MeerKAT (TOI-540) observations yield non-detections, with $3σ$ limits of $\lesssim 7.5$ $μ$Jy ($4-8$ GHz) and $\lesssim 30-80$ $μ$Jy ($0.8-1.7$ GHz), respectively. For SPECULOOS-3 b we rule out observable SPI for most of its orbit, while for TOI-540 b we sample a narrower range, around planetary transit. We model possible planetary magnetic field strength constraints for both systems, and conclude that our observations are sensitive enough to sample SPI emission in these systems if present and directed at us, even for a planetary field of only $\sim 1$ G.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_16852
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Radio Search for Star-Planet Interaction in TOI-540 and SPECULOOS-3
Ceballos, Kevin N. Ortiz
Cendes, Yvette
Berger, Edo
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present the first targeted centimeter-band radio observations of two recently-discovered exoplanet systems that are prime candidates for magnetic star-planet interaction (SPI): TOI-540 and SPECULOOS-3. The targets were selected due to the small orbital separation of their known planets, as well as for indications of stellar magnetic activity, given that for SPI radio emission may be strongest when a sufficiently magnetized star hosts a close-in planet. The deep, multi-epoch Very Large Array (SPECULOOS-3) and MeerKAT (TOI-540) observations yield non-detections, with $3σ$ limits of $\lesssim 7.5$ $μ$Jy ($4-8$ GHz) and $\lesssim 30-80$ $μ$Jy ($0.8-1.7$ GHz), respectively. For SPECULOOS-3 b we rule out observable SPI for most of its orbit, while for TOI-540 b we sample a narrower range, around planetary transit. We model possible planetary magnetic field strength constraints for both systems, and conclude that our observations are sensitive enough to sample SPI emission in these systems if present and directed at us, even for a planetary field of only $\sim 1$ G.
title A Radio Search for Star-Planet Interaction in TOI-540 and SPECULOOS-3
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.16852