Habitability of Super-Earth Planets Around Other Suns: Models Including Red Giant Branch Evolution

Bloh, Werner von; Cuntz, M.; Schröder, K.-P.; Bounama, C.; Franck, S.

doi:10.1089/ast.2008.0285

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The habitable zone (HZ) is defined as the circumstellar orbital zone where liquid water could exist on a planet. A planet also needs to be in the HZ long enough for complex life to evolve (see Kasting et al 1993;Kasting 1997;von Bloh et al 2009von Bloh et al , 2010Jones & Sleep 2010;Rushby et al 2013;Anglada-Escudé et al 2016;Chopra & Lineweaver 2016;Gale & Wandel 2016;Ribas et al 2016Ribas et al , 2017Turbet et al 2016). Planets of M-type stars could meet these three criteria but M-type stars (red dwarfs) are very different from G-type stars such as the Sun (spectral type G2 V -5780 K).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could photosynthesis function on Proxima Centauri b?

Ritchie

Larkum

Ribas

2017

International Journal of Astrobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Could oxygenic and/or anoxygenic photosynthesis exist on planet Proxima Centauri b? Proxima Centauri (spectral type – M5.5 V, 3050 K) is a red dwarf, whereas the Sun is type G2 V (5780 K). The light regimes on Earth and Proxima Centauri b are compared with estimates of the planet's suitability for Chlorophyll a (Chl a) and Chl d-based oxygenic photosynthesis and for bacteriochlorophyll (BChl)-based anoxygenic photosynthesis. Proxima Centauri b has low irradiance in the oxygenic photosynthesis range (400–749 nm: 64–132 µmol quanta m−2 s−1). Much larger amounts of light would be available for BChl-based anoxygenic photosynthesis (350–1100 nm: 724–1538 µmol quanta m−2 s−1). We estimated primary production under these light regimes. We used the oxygenic algae Synechocystis PCC6803, Prochlorothrix hollandica, Acaryochloris marina, Chlorella vulgaris, Rhodomonas sp. and Phaeodactylum tricornutum and the anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris (BChl a), Afifella marina (BChl a), Thermochromatium tepidum (BChl a), Chlorobaculum tepidum (BChl a + c) and Blastochloris viridis (BChl b) as representative photosynthetic organisms. Proxima Centauri b has only ≈3% of the PAR (400–700 nm) of Earth irradiance, but we found that potential gross photosynthesis (Pg) on Proxima Centauri b could be surprisingly high (oxygenic photosynthesis: earth ≈0.8 gC m−2 h−1; Proxima Centauri b ≈0.14 gC m−2 h−1). The proportion of PAR irradiance useable by oxygenic photosynthetic organisms (the sum of Blue + Red irradiance) is similar for the Earth and Proxima Centauri b. The oxygenic photic zone would be only ≈10 m deep in water compared with ≈200 m on Earth. The Pg of an anoxic Earth (gC m−2 h−1) is ≈0.34–0.59 (land) and could be as high as ≈0.29–0.44 on Proxima Centauri b. 1 m of water does not affect oxygenic or anoxygenic photosynthesis on Earth, but on Proxima Centauri b oxygenic Pg is reduced by ≈50%. Effective elimination of near IR limits Pg by photosynthetic bacteria (<10% of the surface value). The spectrum of Proxima Centauri b is unfavourable for anoxygenic aquatic photosynthesis. Nevertheless, a substantial aerobic or anaerobic ecology is possible on Proxima Centauri b. Protocols to recognize the biogenic signature of anoxygenic photosynthesis are needed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could photosynthesis function on Proxima Centauri b?

Ritchie

Larkum

Ribas

2017

International Journal of Astrobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…More recently, von Bloh et al (2009) considered the evolution of the habitable zone and the duration of habitability, including not only the luminosity evolution of the host star but also the evolution of the atmospheric content of the planet itself, e.g. including the greenhouse effect and other processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Metallicity on the Evolution of the Habitable Zone From the Pre-Main Sequence to the Asymptotic Giant Branch and the Search for Life

Danchi

López

2013

ApJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the course of stellar evolution, the location and width of the habitable zone changes as the luminosity and radius of the star evolves. The duration of habitability for a planet located at a given distance from a star is greatly affected by the characteristics of the host star. A quantification of these effects can be used observationally in the search for life around nearby stars. The longer the duration of habitability, the more likely it is that life has evolved. The preparation of observational techniques aimed at detecting life would benefit from the scientific requirements deduced from the evolution of the habitable zone. We present a study of the evolution of the habitable zone around stars of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 M ⊙ for metallicities ranging from Z=0.0001 to Z=0.070. We also consider the evolution of the habitable zone from the pre-main sequence until the asymptotic giant branch is reached. We find that metallicity strongly affects the duration of the habitable zone for a planet as well as the distance from the host star where the duration is maximized. For a 1.0 M ⊙ star with near Solar metallicity, Z=0.017, the duration of the habitable zone is >10 Gyr at distances 1.2 to 2.0 AU from

show abstract

“…One obvious question to ask then is: just how many exoplanets are currently known that could host habitable exomoons? There have been a variety of determinations of the "habitable zone" for terrestrial exoplanets, with a variety of assumptions about stellar luminosity and temperature, and planetary and atmospheric composition (e.g., Selsis et al 2007;von Bloh et al 2009von Bloh et al , 2007Kasting et al 1993). Most of these have assumed a planet of 1 M ⊕ (or larger), and to date there has been little study of the impact on potential habitability for rocky bodies of smaller mass (like the exomoons being considered here), nor of the different composition an exomoon is likely to have.…”

Section: Potential Hosts Of Habitable Exomoonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Xxi. A Gas-Giant Planet in a One Year Orbit and the Habitability of Gas-Giant Satellites

Tinney

Wittenmyer

Butler

et al. 2011

ApJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We have detected the Doppler signature of a gas-giant exoplanet orbiting the star HD 38283, in an eccentric orbit with a period of almost exactly one year (P = 363.2 ± 1.6 d, m sin i = 0.34 ± 0.02 M Jup , e = 0.41 ± 0.16). The detection of a planet with period very close to one year critically relied on year-round observation of this circumpolar star. Discovering a planet in a 1 AU orbit around a G dwarf star has prompted us to look more closely at the question of the habitability of the satellites of such planets. Regular satellites orbit all the giant planets in our solar system, suggesting that their formation is a natural by-product of the planet formation process. There is no reason for exomoon formation not to be similarly likely in exoplanetary systems. Moreover, our current understanding of that formation process does not preclude satellite formation in systems where gas giants undergo migration from their formation locations into the terrestrial planet habitable zone. Indeed, regular satellite formation and Type II migration are both linked to the clearing of a gap in the protoplanetary disk by a planet, and so may be inextricably linked. Migration would also multiply the chances of capturing both irregular satellites and Trojan companions sufficiently massive to be habitable. The habitability of such exomoons and exo-Trojans will critically depend on their mass, whether or not they host a magnetosphere, and (for the exomoon case) their orbital radius around the host exoplanet.

show abstract

Habitability of Super-Earth Planets Around Other Suns: Models Including Red Giant Branch Evolution

Cited by 21 publications

References 43 publications

Could photosynthesis function on Proxima Centauri b?

Could photosynthesis function on Proxima Centauri b?

Effect of Metallicity on the Evolution of the Habitable Zone From the Pre-Main Sequence to the Asymptotic Giant Branch and the Search for Life

The Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Xxi. A Gas-Giant Planet in a One Year Orbit and the Habitability of Gas-Giant Satellites

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About