THERMAL ESCAPE FROM SUPER EARTH ATMOSPHERES IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF M STARS
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Tian-2009-THERMAL ESCAPE FROM.pdf
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279.82 KB
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Author(s)
Tian, Feng
Date Issued
September 2009
Journal
Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society
Citation
Tian, Feng. “THERMAL ESCAPE FROM SUPER EARTH ATMOSPHERES IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF M STARS.” The Astrophysical Journal 703, no. 1 (September 2, 2009): 905–909. © 2009 American Astronomical Society.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
A fundamental question for exoplanet habitability is the long-term stability of the planet's atmosphere. We numerically solve a one-dimensional multi-component hydrodynamic thermosphere/ionosphere model to examine the thermal and chemical responses of the primary CO[subscript 2] atmospheres of heavy super Earths (6-10 Earth masses) in the habitable zones of typical low-mass M stars to the enhanced soft X-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) fluxes associated with the prolonged high-activity levels of M stars. The results show that such atmospheres are stable against thermal escape, even for M stars XUV enhancements as large as 1000 compared to the present Earth. It is possible that the CO[subscript 2]-dominant atmospheres of super Earths in the habitable zones of M stars could potentially contain modest amount of free oxygen as a result of more efficient atmosphere escape of carbon than oxygen instead of photosynthesis.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/703/1/905
