Tidal Heating of Terrestrial Extra-Solar Planets and Implications for their Habitability
Abstract
The tidal heating of hypothetical rocky (or terrestrial) extra-solar planets spans a wide range of values depending on stellar masses and initial orbits. Tidal heating may be sufficiently large (in many cases, in excess of radiogenic heating) and long-lived to drive plate tectonics, similar to the Earth's, which may enhance the planet's habitability. In other cases, excessive tidal heating may result in Io-like planets with violent volcanism, probably rendering them unsuitable for life. On water-rich planets, tidal heating may generate sub-surface oceans analogous to Europa's with similar prospects for habitability. Tidal heating may enhance the outgassing of volatiles, contributing to the formation and replenishment of a planet's atmosphere. To address these issues, we model the tidal heating and evolution of hypothetical extra-solar terrestrial planets. The results presented here constrain the orbital and physical properties required for planets to be habitable.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0808.2770,
title = {Tidal Heating of Terrestrial Extra-Solar Planets and Implications for their Habitability},
author = {Brian Jackson and Rory Barnes and Richard Greenberg},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0808.2770},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
accepted for publication in MNRAS on 2008 Aug 20 35 manuscript pages, 7 figures