In order to understand the short-period pile-up of extrasolar planets, the magnetic torque of a pre-main-sequence central star on a single orbiting \"hot Jupiter\" planet is calculated. The star's magnetic field is modeled as a dipole magnetic field. The time-dependent stellar radius is calculated for four different stellar mass sizes; 2Msum \\.5Msum \\Msum and 0.5Msurt. The minimum planetary ionization for the giant gas planet to be nearly frozen to the magnetic field lines is calculated. The changing angular momentum of an orbiting body was balanced with the magnetic torque of the central star to provide results which support that the central star is capable of halting the migration of Type II planets. The magnetic braking effect that the planet has on the central star is enough to push out the planet during its inward migration and spin-down the star's angular rotation. This investigation shows that the magnetic torque is a viable mechanism to explain the short period pile-up of many extrasolar planets.
","abstract_html":"<p>In order to understand the short-period pile-up of extrasolar planets, the magnetic torque of a pre-main-sequence central star on a single orbiting "hot Jupiter" planet is calculated. The star's magnetic field is modeled as a dipole magnetic field. The time-dependent stellar radius is calculated for four different stellar mass sizes; <em>2M</em><em>sum </em><em>\\.5M</em><em>sum</em> <em>\\M</em><em>sum </em>and <em>0.5M</em><em>surt</em><em>. </em>The minimum planetary ionization for the giant gas planet to be nearly frozen to the magnetic field lines is calculated. The changing angular momentum of an orbiting body was balanced with the magnetic torque of the central star to provide results which support that the central star is capable of halting the migration of Type II planets. The magnetic braking effect that the planet has on the central star is enough to push out the planet during its inward migration and spin-down the star's angular rotation. This investigation shows that the magnetic torque is a viable mechanism to explain the short period pile-up of many extrasolar planets.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alarcon, Brooke E."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Space Science","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Physical Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mark Anthony Reynolds","Lance Erickson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z","subjects":["magnetic coupling","Hot Jupiter","extrasolar","stars","Atmospheric Sciences","Physics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/23","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mark Anthony Reynolds","Lance Erickson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alarcon, Brooke E."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Physical Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Space Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["magnetic coupling","Hot Jupiter","extrasolar","stars","Atmospheric Sciences","Physics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/23"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In order to understand the short-period pile-up of extrasolar planets, the magnetic torque of a pre-main-sequence central star on a single orbiting \"hot Jupiter\" planet is calculated. The star's magnetic field is modeled as a dipole magnetic field. The time-dependent stellar radius is calculated for four different stellar mass sizes; 2Msum \\.5Msum \\Msum and 0.5Msurt. The minimum planetary ionization for the giant gas planet to be nearly frozen to the magnetic field lines is calculated. The changing angular momentum of an orbiting body was balanced with the magnetic torque of the central star to provide results which support that the central star is capable of halting the migration of Type II planets. The magnetic braking effect that the planet has on the central star is enough to push out the planet during its inward migration and spin-down the star's angular rotation. This investigation shows that the magnetic torque is a viable mechanism to explain the short period pile-up of many extrasolar planets.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Magnetic Coupling between a “Hot Jupiter” Extrasolar Planet and Its Pre-Main-Sequence Central Star"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mark Anthony Reynolds","Lance Erickson"],"dc:creator":["Alarcon, Brooke E."],"dc:description.abstract":["In order to understand the short-period pile-up of extrasolar planets, the magnetic torque of a pre-main-sequence central star on a single orbiting \"hot Jupiter\" planet is calculated. The star's magnetic field is modeled as a dipole magnetic field. The time-dependent stellar radius is calculated for four different stellar mass sizes; 2Msum \\.5Msum \\Msum and 0.5Msurt. The minimum planetary ionization for the giant gas planet to be nearly frozen to the magnetic field lines is calculated. The changing angular momentum of an orbiting body was balanced with the magnetic torque of the central star to provide results which support that the central star is capable of halting the migration of Type II planets. The magnetic braking effect that the planet has on the central star is enough to push out the planet during its inward migration and spin-down the star's angular rotation. This investigation shows that the magnetic torque is a viable mechanism to explain the short period pile-up of many extrasolar planets.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/23"],"dc:subject":["magnetic coupling","Hot Jupiter","extrasolar","stars","Atmospheric Sciences","Physics"],"dc:title":["Magnetic Coupling between a “Hot Jupiter” Extrasolar Planet and Its Pre-Main-Sequence Central Star"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Physical Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Space Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z"}