Ohmic heating of asteroids around magnetic stars

Understand

We consider the impact of electromagnetic induction and Ohmic heating on a conducting planetary object that orbits a magnetic star.

• Power dissipated as heat saps orbital energy.
• If this heat is trapped by an insulating crust or mantle, interior temperatures increase substantially.
• We provide a quantitative description of this behavior and discuss the astrophysical scenarios in which it might occur.