Can Lava Lakes from Planetary Debris form on Low-mass M Dwarfs?
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A recent Research Note observes that late-type M dwarf average densities are two orders of magnitude higher than that of lava, and suggests that planetary debris from tidal disruption events (TDEs) could form long-lived and potentially detectable lava lakes on the surfaces of cool M dwarfs. This would represent a very valuable observational avenue for studying TDEs and any other mechanisms that might give rise to planetary engulfment on cool dwarfs. However, examining the density structure of low-mass M dwarfs reveals that lava would only become buoyant at depths well below photospheric, and where plasma temperatures are of the order of 105 K. Infalling lava would be rapidly evaporated on timescales of hours, but could form evanescent and detectable metal-enhanced regions with lifetimes of the order of the surface convective turnover time of a day or so.
Source: Research Notes of the AAS
Author: Jeremy J. Drake
Institution: Lockheed Martin (United States)
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415197091