Dynamical tide in stellar radiative zones. General formalism and evolution for low-mass stars

J. Ahuir, S. Mathis, L. Amard

Published 2021-04-12Version 1

[Abridged] Most exoplanets detected so far are close-in planets, which are likely to be affected by tidal dissipation in their host star. To get a complete picture of the evolution of star-planet systems one needs to consider the impact of tides within both stellar radiative and convective zones. We aim to provide a general formalism to assess tidal dissipation in stellar radiative zones for all spectral types, allowing for the study of the dynamics of a given system throughout stellar evolution. We investigate the influence of stellar structure and evolution on tidal dissipation in the radiative core of low-mass stars. From the study of adiabatic oscillations throughout the star, we compute the energy flux transported by progressive internal gravity waves and the induced tidal torque. We then study the influence of stellar structure and evolution on tidal dissipation of solar-type stars from the pre-main sequence (PMS) to the red giant branch (RGB). For a given star-planet system, tidal dissipation reaches a maximum value on the pre-main sequence for all stellar masses. On the main sequence (MS), it decreases to become almost constant. The dissipation is then several orders of magnitude smaller for F-type stars than for G and K-type stars. During the Sub-Giant phase and the RGB, tidal dissipation increases by several orders of magnitude, along with the expansion of the stellar envelope. We show that the dissipation of the dynamical tide in the convective zone dominates the evolution of the system during most of the PMS and the beginning of the main sequence. Tidal dissipation in the radiative zone then becomes the strongest contribution during the Sub-Giant phase and the RGB. We also find that the dissipation of a metal-poor star is stronger than the dissipation of a metal-rich star during the PMS, the Sub-Giant phase and the RGB.