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Star and orbit

The [star] section configures the host star model and spectral properties. The [orbit] section configures the planetary orbit, tidal evolution, and any satellite.

Submodule documentation: MORS | Obliqua. See also Model description.

Stellar model [star]

Parameter Type Default Description
module str "mors" Stellar evolution module: mors (age-dependent tracks) or dummy (fixed properties)
mass float 1.0 Stellar mass [M\(_\odot\)]
age_ini float 0.1 Model start age [Gyr]
bol_scale float 1.0 Bolometric luminosity scaling factor

MORS stellar tracks [star.mors]

The MORS module interpolates stellar radius, effective temperature, luminosity, and XUV flux from pre-computed evolutionary tracks as a function of stellar age. Two track families are available: Spada1 (solar-type) and Baraffe2 (low-mass M-dwarfs).

Parameter Type Default Description
tracks str "spada" Evolution track family: spada or baraffe
age_now float 4.567 Observed or estimated stellar age [Gyr]
rot_pcntle float or none 50.0 Rotation percentile of stellar population [0, 100]
rot_period float or none none Rotation period [days]; overrides rot_pcntle if set
spectrum_source str "phoenix" Spectral library: solar, muscles, phoenix
star_name str or none none Named star for solar/muscles lookup (e.g. "sun", "trappist-1")
star_path str or none none Path to custom spectrum file; overrides spectrum_source

PHOENIX synthetic spectra

These parameters are used when spectrum_source = "phoenix". PHOENIX provides synthetic spectra on a grid of metallicity, alpha enhancement, and (optionally) effective temperature.

Parameter Type Default Description
phoenix_FeH float 0.0 Metallicity [Fe/H]; 0.0 = solar
phoenix_alpha float 0.0 Alpha enhancement [\(\alpha\)/Fe]; 0.0 = solar
phoenix_radius float or none none Stellar radius [R\(_\odot\)]; none = from MORS tracks
phoenix_log_g float or none none Surface gravity [log\(_{10}\) cgs]; none = from MORS tracks
phoenix_Teff float or none none Effective temperature [K]; none = from MORS tracks

Dummy star [star.dummy]

A fixed-luminosity star with no temporal evolution. Useful for testing and parameter studies where stellar evolution is not relevant.

Parameter Type Default Description
Teff float 5772.0 Effective temperature [K]
radius float or none none Stellar radius [R\(_\odot\)]; if none, derived from Teff and mass when calculate_radius = true
calculate_radius bool false Derive radius from mass-luminosity and mass-radius relations

Orbital configuration [orbit]

Parameter Type Default Description
module str or none none Tidal heating module: none (no tides), dummy (fixed heating), lovepy (self-consistent Love numbers)
semimajoraxis float 1.0 Orbital semi-major axis [AU]
eccentricity float 0.0 Orbital eccentricity
instellation_method str "distance" How to define the orbit: distance (use semi-major axis) or inst (use instellation flux)
instellationflux float 1.0 Instellation flux [S\(_\oplus\)] (only used when method = "inst")
zenith_angle float 48.19 Characteristic zenith angle [degrees]
s0_factor float 0.375 Instellation geometric scale factor (accounts for rotation and day-night redistribution)
evolve bool false Evolve semi-major axis and eccentricity via tidal dissipation
axial_period float or none none Planetary rotation period [hours]; none = tidally locked (1:1 spin-orbit resonance)

Satellite

Parameter Type Default Description
satellite bool false Include a satellite (moon)
mass_sat float 7.347e22 Satellite mass [kg] (default: lunar mass)
semimajoraxis_sat float 3e8 Satellite orbital semi-major axis [m]

Dummy tides [orbit.dummy]

Fixed tidal heating rates, useful for parameter studies.

Parameter Type Default Description
H_tide float 0.0 Fixed tidal power density [W kg\(^{-1}\)]
Phi_tide str "<0.3" Inequality defining where tidal heating is applied (melt fraction condition, e.g. "<0.3")
Imk2 float 0.0 Fixed Im(\(k_2\)) Love number (must be \(\leq 0\))

LovePy tides [orbit.lovepy]

Self-consistent tidal heating using viscoelastic Love numbers computed from the interior rheological profile.

Parameter Type Default Description
visc_thresh float 1e9 Minimum viscosity for tidal heating calculation [Pa s]
ncalc int 1000 Number of interior grid points for tidal calculation

See also: Stellar module | Orbit module


  1. Spada, F., Demarque, P., Kim, Y.C. & Sills, A., The radius discrepancy in low-mass stars: single versus binaries, The Astrophysical Journal, 776, 87, 2013. SciX

  2. Baraffe, I., Homeier, D., Allard, F. & Chabrier, G., New evolutionary models for pre-main sequence and main sequence low-mass stars down to the hydrogen-burning limit, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 577, A42, 2015. SciX