Related papers: The Space Weather of Proxima Centauri b
We present the results of a comprehensive numerical simulation of the environment around three exoplanet-host stars (HD 1237, HD 22049, and HD 147513). Our simulations consider one of the latest models currently used for space weather…
We present a model for the evolution of the magnetic properties of habitable terrestrial planets and their effects on the protection of planetary atmosphere against the erosive action of stellar wind. Using up-to-date thermal evolution…
M-type stars are the most common stars in the universe. They are ideal hosts for the search of exoplanets in the habitable zone (HZ), as their small size and low temperature make the HZ much closer in than their solar twins. Harboring very…
The current progress in the detection of terrestrial type exoplanets has opened a new avenue in the characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres and in the search for biosignatures of life with the upcoming ground-based and space missions.…
Recent studies regarding the habitability, observability, and possible orbital evolution of the indirectly detected exoplanet Proxima b have mostly assumed a planet with $M \sim 1.3$ $M_\oplus$, a rocky composition, and an Earth-like…
Stellar activity has a particularly strong influence on planets at small orbital distances, such as close-in exoplanets. For such planets, we present two extreme cases of stellar variability, namely stellar coronal mass ejections and…
The closest stars that harbor potentially habitable planets are cool M-stars. Upcoming ground- and space-based telescopes will be able to search the atmosphere of such planets for a range of chemicals. To facilitate this search and to…
The precision of radial velocity (RV) measurements to detect indirectly planetary companions of nearby stars has improved to enable the discovery of extrasolar planets in the Neptune and Super-Earth mass range. Discoveries of Earth-like…
We have found that Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun, will pass close to a pair of faint background stars in the next few years. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images obtained in 2012 October, we determine that the passage…
Stellar rotation at early ages plays a crucial role in the survival of primordial atmospheres around Earth-mass exoplanets. Earth-like planets orbiting fast-rotating stars may undergo complete photoevaporation within the first few hundred…
The magnetic activity of a star -- which modulates the stellar wind outflow -- shapes the immediate environments of orbiting planets and induces atmospheric loss thereby impacting their habitability. We perform a detailed parameter space…
M dwarf stars, which have masses less than 60 per cent that of the Sun, make up 75 per cent of the population of the stars in the Galaxy [1]. The atmospheres of orbiting Earth-sized planets are observationally accessible via transmission…
We make a preliminary assessment on the habitability of potential rocky exoplanets around Alpha Centauri B. We use several indexes: the Earth Similarity Index, a mathematical model for photosynthesis, and a biological productivity model.…
Forming planets around young, fast-rotating solar-like stars are exposed to an intense X-ray/extreme ultraviolet radiation field and strongly magnetized stellar winds, as a consequence of the high magnetic activity of these stars. Under…
The great majority of exoplanets discovered so far are orbiting cool, low-mass stars whose properties are relatively similar to the Sun. However, the stellar magnetism of these stars can be significantly different from the solar one, both…
Stratosphere circulation is important to interpret abundances of photo-chemically produced compounds like ozone that we aim to observe to assess habitability of exoplanets. We thus investigate a tidally locked ExoEarth scenario for…
The present study aims at characterizing the habitability conditions of exoplanets with an Earth-like magnetosphere inside the habitable zone of M stars and F stars like tau Boo, caused by the direct deposition of the stellar wind on the…
Recent studies have shown that alpha Centauri B might be, from an observational point of view, an ideal candidate for the detection of an Earth-like planet in or near its habitable zone (0.5-0.9AU). We study here if such habitable planets…
Here, I review some recent works on magnetism of cool, main-sequence stars, their winds and potential impact on surrounding exoplanets. The winds of these stars are very tenuous and persist during their lifetime. Although carrying just a…
At a distance of about 4.22 lightyears, it would take about 100,000 years for humans to visit our closest stellar neighbor Proxima Centauri using modern chemical thrusters. New technologies are now being developed that involve high-power…