On the role of reduced wind mass-loss rate in enabling exoplanets to shape planetary nebulae

Abstract

ABSTRACT We use the stellar evolution code MESA–binary and follow the evolution of three exoplanets and two brown dwarfs (BDs) to determine their potential role in the future evolution of their parent star on the red giant branch (RGB) and on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). We limit this study to exoplanets and BDs with orbits that have semimajor axis of $1 {~\rm au}\lesssim a_0 \lesssim 20 {~\rm au}$, a high eccentricity, $e_0 \gtrsim 0.25$, and having a parent star of mass M*,0 ≥ 1 M⊙. We find that the star HIP 75 458 will engulf its planet HIP 75 458b during its RGB phase. The planet will remove the envelope and terminate the RGB evolution, leaving a bare helium core of mass 0.4 M⊙ that will evolve to form a helium white dwarf. Only in one system out of five, the planet beta Pic c will enter the envelope of its parent star during the AGB phase. For that to occur, we have to reduce the wind mass-loss rate by a factor of about four from its commonly used value. This strengthens an early conclusion, which was based on exoplanets with circular orbits, which states that to have a non-negligible fraction of AGB stars that engulf planets we should consider lower wind mass-loss rates of isolated AGB stars (before they are spun-up by a companion). Such an engulfed planet might lead to the shaping of the AGB mass-loss geometry to form an elliptical planetary nebula.