A uGMRT search for radio emission from planets around evolved stars

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2024-03, Vol.529 (2), p.1161-1168
• Main Authors: Narang, Mayank, Puravankara, M, Chandra, C H Ishwara, Banerjee, Bihan, Tyagi, Himanshu, Tamura, Motohide, Henning, Thomas, Mathew, Blesson, Lazio, Joseph, Surya, Arun, Nayak, Prasanta K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae536

ABSTRACT In this work, we present the results from a study using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to search for radio emission from planets around three evolved stars namely α Tau, β UMi, and β Gem. Both α Tau and β UMi host massive ∼ 6 MJ mass planets at about ∼1.4 au from the central star, while β Gem is host to a 2.9 MJ mass planet at 1.7 au from the host star. We observe α Tau and β UMi at two upgraded GMRT bands: band 3 (250–500 MHz) and band 4 (550–900 MHz). We also analysed the archival observations from β Gem at 150 MHz from GMRT. We did not detect any radio signals from these systems. At 400 MHz, the 3σ upper limit is 87 μJy beam−1 for α Tau b and 77.4 μJy beam−1 for β UMi b. From our observations at 650 MHz, we place a 3σ upper limit of 28.2 μJy beam−1 for α Tau b and 33.6 μJy beam−1 for β UMi b. For β Gem b, at 150 MHz, we place an upper limit of 2.5 mJy. At 400 and 650 MHz, our observations are the deepest radio images for any exoplanetary system.