Related papers: The Surface UV Environment on Planets Orbiting M-D…
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is common to most planetary environments, and could play a key role in the chemistry of molecules relevant to abiogenesis (prebiotic chemistry). In this work, we explore the impact of UV light on prebiotic…
The closest potentially habitable worlds outside our Solar system orbit a different kind of star than our Sun: smaller red dwarf stars. Such stars can flare frequently, bombarding their planets with biologically damaging high-energy UV…
The prospects for the habitability of M-dwarf planets have long been debated, due to key differences between the unique stellar and planetary environments around these low-mass stars, as compared to hotter, more luminous Sun-like stars.…
Ultraviolet (UV) light plays a key role in surficial theories of the origin of life, and numerous studies have focused on constraining the atmospheric transmission of UV radiation on early Earth. However, the UV transmission of the natural…
We model the atmospheres and spectra of Earth-like planets orbiting the entire grid of M dwarfs for active and inactive stellar models with $T_{eff}$ = 2300K to $T_{eff}$ = 3800K and for six observed MUSCLES M dwarfs with UV radiation data.…
The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the surface UV…
The spectral and temporal behavior of exoplanet host stars is a critical input to models of the chemistry and evolution of planetary atmospheres. At present, little observational or theoretical basis exists for understanding the ultraviolet…
During the last decade, there was a paradigm-shift in order to consider terrestrial planets within liquid-water habitable zones (LW-HZ) around M stars, as suitable places for the emergence and evolution of life. Here we analyze the…
The UV environment is a key boundary condition for the origin of life. However, considerable uncertainty exists as to planetary conditions and hence surface UV at abiogenesis. Here, we present two-stream multi-layer clear-sky calculations…
Recent findings suggest Mars may have been a clement environment for the emergence of life, and may even have compared favorably to Earth in this regard. These findings have revived interest in the hypothesis that prebiotically important…
The ultraviolet (UV) emission from the most numerous stars in the universe, M dwarfs, impacts the formation, chemistry, atmospheric stability, and surface habitability of their planets. We have analyzed the spectral evolution of UV emission…
M dwarfs show the highest rocky planet occurrence among all spectral types, in some instances within the Habitable Zone. Because some of them are very active stars, they are often subject to frequent and powerful flaring, which can be a…
The spectral energy distribution, variability and evolution of the high-energy radiation from an M dwarf planet host is crucial in understanding the planet's atmospheric evolution and habitability and in interpreting the planet's spectrum.…
There is growing evidence that brown dwarfs may be comparable to main-sequence stars in terms of their abundance. In this paper, we explore the prospects for the existence of life on Earth-like planets around brown dwarfs. We consider the…
We find that variations in the UV emissions of cool M-dwarf stars have a potentially large impact upon atmospheric biosignatures in simulations of Earth-like exoplanets i.e. planets with Earths development, and biomass and a molecular…
An Earth-like exoplanet orbiting a white dwarf would be exposed to different UV environments than Earth, influencing both its atmospheric photochemistry and UV surface environment. Using a coupled 1D climate-photochemistry code we model…
The vast majority of stars in the nearby stellar neighborhood are M dwarfs. Their low masses and luminosities result in slow rates of nuclear evolution and minimal changes to the star's observable properties, even along astronomical…
M-dwarf stars are prime targets for exoplanet searches because of their close proximity and favorable properties for both planet detection and characterization. However, the potential habitability and atmospheric characterization of these…
Exoplanet surveys around M dwarfs have detected a growing number of exoplanets with Earth-like insolation. It is expected that some of those planets are rocky planets with the potential for temperate climates favourable to surface liquid…
In a few years, space telescopes will investigate our Galaxy to detect evidence of life, mainly by observing rocky planets. In the last decade, the observation of exoplanet atmospheres and the theoretical works on biosignature gasses have…