X-ray observations have been made of a sample of 20 classical Cepheids, including two new observations (Polaris and l Car) reported here. The occurrence of X-ray flux around the pulsation cycle is discussed. Three Cepheids are detected ( δ Cep, β Dor, and Polaris). X-rays have also been detected from the low-mass F, G, and K companions of four Cepheids (V473 Lyr, R Cru, V659 Cen, and W Sgr) and one hot companion (S Mus). Upper limits on the X-ray flux of the remaining Cepheids provide an estimate that 28% have low-mass companions. This fraction of low-mass companions in intermediate-mass Cepheids is significantly lower than expected from random pairing with the field initial mass function (IMF). Combining the companion fraction from X-rays with that from ultraviolet observations results in a binary/multiple fraction of 57% ± 12% for Cepheids with ratios q > 0.1 and separations a >1 au. This is a lower limit since M stars are not included. X-ray observations detect less massive companions than other existing studies of intermediate-mass stars. Our measured occurrence rate of unresolved, low-mass companions to Cepheids suggests that intermediate-period binaries derive from a combination of disk and core fragmentation and accretion. This yields a hybrid mass ratio distribution that is skewed toward small values compared to a uniform distribution but is still top-heavy compared to random pairings drawn from the IMF.

X-ray bursts have recently been discovered in the Cepheids δ Cep and β Dor modulated by the pulsation cycle. We have obtained an observation of the Cepheid η Aql with the XMM-Newton satellite at the phase of maximum radius; the phase at which there is a burst of X-rays in δ Cep. No X-rays were seen from the Cepheid η Aql at this phase, and the implications for Cepheid upper atmospheres are discussed. We have also used the combination of X-ray sources, as well as Gaia and 2MASS data, to search for a possible grouping around the young intermediate mass Cepheid. No indication of such a group was found.

Stellar wind and photon radiation interactions with a planet can cause atmospheric depletion, which may have a potentially catastrophic impact on a planet's habitability. While the implications of photoevaporation on atmospheric erosion have been researched to some degree, studies of the influence of the stellar wind on atmospheric loss are in their infancy. Here, we use three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to model the effect of the stellar wind on the magnetosphere and outflow of a hypothetical planet, modeled to have an H-rich evaporating envelope with a pre-defined mass loss rate, orbiting in the habitable zone close to a low-mass M dwarf. We take the TRAPPIST-1 system as a prototype, with our simulated planet situated at the orbit of TRAPPIST-1e. We show that the atmospheric outflow is dragged and accelerated upon interaction with the wind, resulting in a diverse range of planetary magnetosphere morphologies and plasma distributions as local stellar wind conditions change. We consider the implications of the wind-outflow interaction on potential hydrogen Lyman-alpha (Lya) observations of the planetary atmosphere during transits. The Lya observational signatures depend strongly on the local wind conditions at the time of the observation and can be subject to considerable variation on timescales as short as an hour. Our results indicate that observed variations in exoplanet Lya transit signatures could be explained by wind-outflow interaction.

Heliospheric plasmas require multi-scale and multi-physics considerations. On one hand, MHD codes are widely used for global simulations of the solar-terrestrial environments, but do not provide the most elaborate physical description of space plasmas. Hybrid codes, on the other hand, capture important physical processes, such as electric currents and effects of finite Larmor radius, but they can be used locally only, since the limitations in available computational resources do not allow for their use throughout a global computational domain. In the present work, we present a new coupled scheme which allows to switch blocks in the block-adaptive grids from fluid MHD to hybrid simulations, without modifying the self-consistent computation of the electromagnetic fields acting on fluids (in MHD simulation) or charged ion macroparticles (in hybrid simulation). In this way, the hybrid scheme can refine the description in specified regions of interest without compromising the efficiency of the global MHD code.

Cepheid masses derived from pulsations or binary dynamics are generally lower than those derived from stellar evolution models. Recent efforts have been dedicated to investigating the effects of abundances, mass loss, rotation, convection and overshooting prescriptions for modifying the evolution tracks to reduce or remove this Cepheid mass discrepancy. While these approaches are promising, either alone or in combination, more work is required to distinguish between possible solutions. Here we investigate nuclear reaction rate and opacity modifications on Cepheid evolution using the MESA code. We discuss the effects of opacity increases at envelope temperatures of 200,000-400,000 K proposed to explain the pulsation properties of hybrid main-sequence beta Cep/Slowly Pulsating B (SPB) variables which will evolve into Cepheids. We make use of the RSP nonlinear radial pulsation modeling capability in MESA to calculate periods and radial velocity amplitudes of Galactic Cepheids V1334 Cyg, Polaris, and delta Cep.

V473 Lyr is a classical Cepheid that is unique in having substantial amplitude variations with a period of approximately 3.3 yr, thought to be similar to the Blazhko variations in RR Lyrae stars. We obtained an XMMNewton observation of this star to follow up a previous detection in X-rays. Rather than the X-ray burst and rapid decline near maximum radius seen in fi Cephei itself, the X-ray flux in V473 Lyr remained constant for a third of the pulsation cycle covered by the observation. Thus the X-rays are probably not produced by the changes around the pulsation cycle. The X-ray spectrum is soft (kT = 0.6 keV), with X-ray properties consistent with a young low mass companion. Previously there was no evidence of a companion in radial velocities or in Gaia and Hipparcos proper motions. While this rules out companions that are very close or very distant, a binary companion at a separation between 30 and 300 au is possible. This is an example of an X-ray observation revealing evidence of a low -mass companion, which is important in completing the mass ratio statistics of binary Cepheids. Furthermore, the detection of a young X-ray bright companion is a further indication that the Cepheid (primary) is a Population I star, even though its pulsation behavior differs from other classical Cepheids.

We investigate the space environment conditions near the Earth-size planet TOI 700 d using a set of numerical models for the stellar corona and wind, the planetary magnetosphere, and the planetary ionosphere. We drive our simulations using a scaled-down stellar input and a scaled-up solar input in order to obtain two independent solutions. We find that for the particular parameters used in our study, the stellar wind conditions near the planet are not very extreme-slightly stronger than that near the Earth in terms of the stellar wind ram pressure and the intensity of the interplanetary magnetic field. Thus, the space environment near TOI 700 d may not be extremely harmful to the planetary atmosphere, assuming the planet resembles the Earth. Nevertheless, we stress that the stellar input parameters and the actual planetary parameters are unconstrained, and different parameters may result in a much greater effect on the atmosphere of TOI 700 d. Finally, we compare our results to solar wind measurements in the solar system and stress that modest stellar wind conditions may not guarantee atmospheric retention of exoplanets.

A new planet has been recently discovered around Proxima Centauri. With an orbital separation of ∼1.44 au and a minimum mass of about , Proxima c is a prime direct imaging target for atmospheric characterization. The latter can only be performed with a good understanding of the space environment of the planet, as multiple processes can have profound effects on the atmospheric structure and evolution. Here, we take one step in this direction by generating physically realistic numerical simulations of Proxima’s stellar wind, coupled to a magnetosphere and ionosphere model around Proxima c. We evaluate their expected variation due to the magnetic cycle of the host star, as well as for plausible inclination angles for the exoplanet orbit. Our results indicate stellar wind dynamic pressures comparable to present-day Earth, with a slight increase (by a factor of 2) during high-activity periods of the star. A relatively weak interplanetary magnetic field at the distance of Proxima c leads to negligible stellar wind Joule heating of the upper atmosphere (about 10% of the solar wind contribution on Earth) for an Earth-like planetary magnetic field (0.3 G). Finally, we provide an assessment of the likely extreme conditions experienced by the exoplanet candidate Proxima d, tentatively located at 0.029 au with a minimum mass of 0.29 M⊕.

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on stars other than the Sun have proven very difficult to detect. One promising pathway lies in the detection of type II radio bursts. Their appearance and distinctive properties are associated with the development of an outward propagating CME-driven shock. However, dedicated radio searches have not been able to identify these transient features in other stars. Large Alfven speeds and the magnetic suppression of CMEs in active stars have been proposed to render stellar eruptions "radio-quiet." Employing 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations, we study the distribution of the coronal Alfven speed, focusing on two cases representative of a young Sun-like star and a mid-activity M-dwarf (Proxima Centauri). These results are compared with a standard solar simulation and used to characterize the shock-prone regions in the stellar corona and wind. Furthermore, using a flux-rope eruption model, we drive realistic CME events within our M-dwarf simulation. We consider eruptions with different energies to probe the regimes of weak and partial CME magnetic confinement. While these CMEs are able to generate shocks in the corona, those are pushed much farther out compared to their solar counterparts. This drastically reduces the resulting type II radio burst frequencies down to the ionospheric cutoff, which impedes their detection with ground-based instrumentation.

Cepheids are pulsating variable stars with a periodic chromospheric response at UV wavelengths close to their minimum radius phase. Recently, an X-ray variable signature was captured in observations during the \emph{maximum} radius phase. This X-ray emission came as a surprise and is not understood. In this work, we use the modern astrophysical code, PLUTO, to investigate the effects of pulsations on Cepheid X-ray emission. We run a number of hydrodynamic numerical simulations with a variety of initial and boundary conditions in order to explore the capability of shocks to produce the observed phase-dependent X-ray behavior. Finally we use the Simulated Observations of X-ray Sources (SOXS) package to create synthetic spectra for each simulation case and link our simulations to observables. We show that, for certain conditions, we can reproduce observed X-ray fluxes at phases 0.4--0.8 when the Cepheid is at maximum radius. Our results span a wide range of mass-loss rates, $2\times10^{-13}$--$3\times10^{-8}$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, and peak X-ray luminosities, $5\times10^{-17}$--$1.4\times10^{-12}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. We conclude that Cepheids exhibit \textit{two component emission} with (a) shock waves being responsible for the phase dependent variable emission (phases 0.2 - 0.6), and (b) a separate quiescent mechanism being the dominant emission mechanism for the remaining phases.

The stellar magnetic field completely dominates the environment around late-type stars. It is responsible for driving the coronal high-energy radiation (e.g. EUV/X-rays), the development of stellar winds, and the generation transient events such as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While progress has been made for the first two processes, our understanding of the eruptive behavior in late-type stars is still very limited. One example of this is the fact that despite the frequent and highly energetic flaring observed in active stars, direct evidence for stellar CMEs is almost non-existent. Here we discuss realistic 3D simulations of stellar CMEs, analyzing their resulting properties in contrast with solar eruptions, and use them to provide a common framework to interpret the available stellar observations. Additionally, we present results from the first 3D CME simulations in M-dwarf stars, with emphasis on possible observable signatures imprinted in the stellar corona.