Theoretical model demonstrates the transition between sub-Alfvénic and super-Alfvénic stellar wind regimes around HD 209458b, highlighting how orbital distance shapes planetary magnetospheres.
Depending on the distance of the exoplanet from the central star and the properties of this star, different regimes of stellar wind flow around it arise. If the exoplanet is located at a distance up to the Alfvén radius, where the wind speed is equal to the Alfvén speed, or the Alfvén Mach number M_A = 1 , the exoplanet generates Alfvén wings. If it is situated beyond the Alfvén radius, a comet-like magnetosphere appears, similar to that of the planets of the Solar System. The paper examines how the transition from one flow regime to another can be described on the base of a paraboloid model of the magnetospheric magnetic field using the example of exoplanet HD 209458b.
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E. S. Belenkaya (2024) studied this question.
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