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Abstract:
Jupiter's radio emission has been linked to its planetary-scale magnetic field, and spacecraft
investigations have revealed that most planets, and some moons, have or had a global magnetic
field. Generated by internal dynamos, magnetic fields are one of the few remote sensing means of
constraining the properties of planetary interiors. For the Earth, its magnetic field has been
speculated to be partially responsible for its habitability, and knowledge of an extrasolar planet's
magnetic field may be necessary to assess its habitability. The radio emission from Jupiter and
other solar system planets is produced by an electron cyclotron maser, and detections of extrasolar
planetary electron cyclotron masers will enable measurements of extrasolar planetary magnetic
fields. In this colloquium, I review the motivations for detecting magnetic fields of extrasolar planets
via their radio emissions, assess the current state of the field, and describe the technological
foundations for future space-based detections of extrasolar planetary radio emission.
(Image credit: Keck Institute for Space Studies)
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