The habitability of super-Earths in Gliese 581

Bloh, Werner von; Bounama, C.; Cuntz, M.; Franck, S.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20077939

Cited by 94 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…One of them, Gl 581, is hosting two planets that potentially fall into the star's habitable zone (von Bloh et al 2007;Selsis et al 2007). Recently, Tarter et al (2007) has concluded that M dwarfs should be included in the quest for habitable worlds and evidence of life, because they are so numerous and there are no obvious reasons why activity should destroy life on them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity-induced radial velocity jitter in a flaring M dwarf

Reiners¹

2009

A&A

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We investigate the effect of stellar activity and flares on short-term radial velocity measurements in the mid-M flare star CN Leo. Radial velocity variations are calculated from 181 UVES spectra obtained during three nights. We searched for spectral orders that contain very few atmospheric absorption lines and calibrated them against the telluric A-band from O 2 in the Earth's atmosphere. One giant flare occurred during our observations, which has a very strong effect on radial velocity. The apparent radial velocity shift due to the flare is several hundred m s −1 and clearly correlated with Hα emission. Outside the flare, only spectral orders containing the most prominent emission lines of H, He, and Ca show a correlation to chromospheric activity together with a radial velocity jitter exceeding a few 10 m s −1 . We identify a number of spectral orders that are free of strong emission lines and show no flaring-related radial velocity jitter, although flares occurred as strong as 0.4 dex in normalized Hα luminosity. The mean radial velocity jitter due to moderate flaring is less than 10 m s −1 . Strong flares are easily recognized directly in the spectra and should be neglected for planet searches.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity-induced radial velocity jitter in a flaring M dwarf

Reiners¹

2009

A&A

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“…The habitability of Gl 581c and d has been investigated by Selsis et al (2007) and von Bloh et al (2007a), based on the discovery data published by Udry et al (2007). In their study, von Bloh et al (2007a) applied a box-model of the Earth, which incorporates the carbonate-silicate cycle, requiring a A&A 522, A23 (2010) Johnson & Wright (1983), Lacy (1977) surface reservoir of liquid water and a tectonically active planet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In their study, von Bloh et al (2007a) applied a box-model of the Earth, which incorporates the carbonate-silicate cycle, requiring a A&A 522, A23 (2010) Johnson & Wright (1983), Lacy (1977) surface reservoir of liquid water and a tectonically active planet. It includes the exchange of CO 2 between the mantle and crust of the planet and its atmosphere by assuming parameterizations for continental growth and spreading rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The extrasolar planet Gliese 581d: a potentially habitable planet?

Paris

Gebauer

Godolt

et al. 2010

A&A

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Aims. The planetary system around the M star Gliese 581 contains at least three close-in potentially low-mass planets, Gl 581c, d, and e. In order to address the question of the habitability of Gl 581d, we performed detailed atmospheric modeling studies for several planetary scenarios. Methods. A 1D radiative-convective model was used to calculate temperature and pressure profiles of model atmospheres, which we assumed to be composed of molecular nitrogen, water, and carbon dioxide. The model allows for changing surface pressures caused by evaporation/condensation of water and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the treatment of the energy transport has been improved in the model to account in particular for high CO 2 , high-pressure Super-Earth conditions. Results. For four high-pressure scenarios of our study, the resulting surface temperatures were above 273 K, indicating a potential habitability of the planet. These scenarios include three CO 2 -dominated atmospheres (95% CO 2 concentration with 5, 10, and 20 bar surface pressure) and a high-pressure CO 2 -enriched atmosphere (5% CO 2 concentration with 20 bar surface pressure). For all other considered scenarios, the calculated Gl 581d surface temperatures were below the freezing point of water, suggesting that Gl 581d would not be habitable then. The results for our CO 2 -dominated scenarios confirm very recent model results by Wordsworth et al. (2010). However, our model calculations imply that also atmospheres that are not CO 2 -dominated (i.e., 5% vmr instead of 95% vmr) could result in habitable conditions for Gl 581d.

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“…One approach is to consider atmospheres similar to Earth, Venus or Mars (or their atmospheres in earlier epochs). Considering the amount of greenhouse gases including CO 2 , Selsis et al (2007) and von Bloh et al (2007) both found that Gl 581d is more likely to be habitable (that is with surface temperatures consistent with liquid water) than Gl 581c. Other investigators consider atmospheres that radically depart from the terrestrial planets in our solar system.…”

Section: Super Earth Atmospheresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exoplanet atmospheres: A theoretical outlook

Seager

2010

Proc. IAU

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Abstract. With over two dozen exoplanet atmospheres observed today, the field of exoplanet atmospheres is solidly established. The highlights of exoplanet atmosphere studies include: detection of molecular spectral features; constraints on atmospheric vertical temperature structure; detection of day-night temperature gradients; and a new numerical approach to atmosphere temperature and abundance retrieval. As hot Jupiter observations and interpretation are maturing, the next frontier is super Earth atmospheres. Theoretical models of super Earth atmospheres are moving forward with observational hopes pinned on the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2014. Further in the future lies direct imaging attempts to answer the enigmatic and ancient question, "Are we alone?" via atmospheric biosignatures.

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The habitability of super-Earths in Gliese 581

Cited by 94 publications

References 35 publications

Activity-induced radial velocity jitter in a flaring M dwarf

Activity-induced radial velocity jitter in a flaring M dwarf

The extrasolar planet Gliese 581d: a potentially habitable planet?

Exoplanet atmospheres: A theoretical outlook

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