Stellar Aspects of Habitability: Characterizing Target Stars for
  Terrestrial Planet Search Missions

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Abstract

In this paper we present and discuss the criteria for selecting potential target stars suitable for the search for Earth like planets, with a special emphasis on the stellar aspects of habitability. Missions that search for terrestrial exoplanets will explore the presence and habitability of Earth-like exoplanets around several hundred nearby stars, mainly F, G, K, and M stars. The evaluation of the list of potential target systems in order to develop mission concepts for a search for Terrestrial Exoplanets is essential. Using the Darwin All Sky Star Catalogue (DASSC), we discuss the selection criteria, configuration dependent sub-catalogues and the implication of stellar activity for habitability.

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Most cited references 27

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Ozone concentrations and ultraviolet fluxes on Earth-like planets around other stars.

Antígona Segura, Kara Krelove, James F. Kasting … (2003)

Coupled radiative-convective/photochemical modeling was performed for Earth-like planets orbiting different types of stars (the Sun as a G2V, an F2V, and a K2V star). O(2) concentrations between 1 and 10(-5) times the present atmospheric level (PAL) were simulated. The results were used to calculate visible/near-IR and thermal-IR spectra, along with surface UV fluxes and relative dose rates for erythema and DNA damage. For the spectral resolution and sensitivity currently planned for the first generation of terrestrial planet detection and characterization missions, we find that O(2) should be observable remotely in the visible for atmospheres containing at least 10(-2) PAL of O(2). O(3) should be visible in the thermal-IR for atmospheres containing at least 10(-3) PAL of O(2). CH(4) is not expected to be observable in 1 PAL O(2) atmospheres like that of modern Earth, but it might be observable at thermal-IR wavelengths in "mid-Proterozoic-type" atmospheres containing approximately 10(-1) PAL of O(2). Thus, the simultaneous detection of both O(3) and CH(4) - considered to be a reliable indication of life - is within the realm of possibility. High-O(2) planets orbiting K2V and F2V stars are both better protected from surface UV radiation than is modern Earth. For the F2V case the high intrinsic UV luminosity of the star is more than offset by the much thicker ozone layer. At O(2) levels below approximately 10(-2) PAL, planets around all three types of stars are subject to high surface UV fluxes, with the F2V planet exhibiting the most biologically dangerous radiation environment. Thus, while advanced life is theoretically possible on high-O(2) planets around F stars, it is not obvious that it would evolve as it did on Earth.

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Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) Activity of Low Mass M Stars as An Important Factor for The Habitability of Terrestrial Exoplanets. II. CME-Induced Ion Pick Up of Earth-like Exoplanets in Close-In Habitable Zones

N Terada, Nikolai V. Erkaev, Helfried K. Biernat … (2007)

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Climate model studies of synchronously rotating planets.

Manoj Joshi (2003)

M stars constitute 75% of main sequence stars though, until recently, their star systems have not been considered suitable places for habitable planets to exist. In this study the climate of a synchronously rotating planet around an M dwarf star is evaluated using a three-dimensional global atmospheric circulation model. The presence of clouds and evaporative cooling at the surface of the planet result in a cooler surface temperature at the subsolar point. Water ice forms at the polar regions and on the dark side, where the minimum temperature lies between -30 degrees C and 0 degrees C. As expected, rainfall is extremely high on the starlit side and extremely low on the dark side. The presence of a dry continent causes higher temperatures on the dayside, and allows accumulation of snow on the nightside. The absence of any oceans leads to higher day-night temperature differences, consistent with previous work. The present study reinforces recent conclusions that synchronously rotating planets within the circumstellar habitable zones of M dwarf stars should be habitable, and therefore M dwarf systems should not be excluded in future searches for exoplanets.

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Publication date Created: 01 June 2009

Publication date Updated: 2010-03-02

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DOI: 10.1089/ast.2009.0367

ArXiV ID: 0906.0378

SO-VID: c8161004-7fd5-40c8-8858-878a71a72b51

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http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

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Comments 14 pages, 4 figures, Astrobiology, 10, 1,2010

Categories astro-ph.EP astro-ph.SR

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Stellar Aspects of Habitability: Characterizing Target Stars for Terrestrial Planet Search Missions

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Special feature: Decolonising the School Curriculum

Most cited references 27

Ozone concentrations and ultraviolet fluxes on Earth-like planets around other stars.

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) Activity of Low Mass M Stars as An Important Factor for The Habitability of Terrestrial Exoplanets. II. CME-Induced Ion Pick Up of Earth-like Exoplanets in Close-In Habitable Zones

Climate model studies of synchronously rotating planets.

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