Atmospheric mass-loss and stellar wind effects in young and old systems - I. Comparative 3D study of TOI-942 and TOI-421 systems

Abstract

At young ages, when radiation from the host star is high, and the planet is hot and inflated after formation, planetary atmospheric mass-loss can be extremely strong compared to older planets. In turn, stellar winds are faster and denser for young stars compared to evolved main-sequence stars. Their interaction with escaping planetary atmospheres can substantially affect atmospheric mass-loss rates, as well as the observable signatures of escaping atmospheres, with both effects expected to occur differently for young and evolved planets. We perform a comparative study of two systems around stars of similar masses but very different ages (50 Myr and 9 Gyr): TOI-942 and TOI-421. Both stars host two sub-Neptune-like planets at similar orbits and in similar mass ranges, which allows a direct comparison of the atmospheric escape and interactions with the stellar winds in the young and old systems. We perform the 3D atmospheric modelling of the four planets in TOI-942 and TOI-421 systems and make the theoretical predictions of possible observational signatures in Ly α absorption. We find that accounting for the stellar wind interacting with planetary atmospheres is crucial for the interpretation of the observations for young planets. Additionally, we show that a particular energy distribution along the XUV spectra has a minor effect on the atmospheric mass-loss rates, but it is of crucial importance for modelling the Ly α absorption and therefore for interpretation of observations.