Related papers: Stellar space weather effects on potentially habit…
It is currently unknown how common life is on exoplanets, or how long planets can remain viable for life. To date, we have a superficial notion of habitability, a necessary first step, but so far lacking an understanding of the detailed…
The architecture of exoplanetary systems is often different from the solar system, with some exoplanets being in close orbits around their host stars and having orbital periods of only a few days. In analogy to interactions between stars in…
Stellar wind and photon radiation interactions with a planet can cause atmospheric depletion, which may have a potentially catastrophic impact on a planet's habitability. While the implications of photoevaporation on atmospheric erosion…
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…
What kind of environment may exist on terrestrial planets around other stars? In spite of the lack of direct observations, it may not be premature to speculate on exoplanetary climates, for instance to optimize future telescopic…
We review how tides may impact the habitability of terrestrial-like planets. If such planets form around low-mass stars, then planets in the circumstellar habitable zone will be close enough to their host stars to experience strong tidal…
Context: The principle definition of habitability for exoplanets is whether they can sustain liquid water on their surfaces, i.e. that they orbit within the habitable zone. However, the planet's magnetosphere should also be considered,…
Both stars and planets can lose mass through an expansive wind outflow, often constrained or channeled by magnetic fields that form a surrounding magnetosphere. The very strong winds of massive stars are understood to be driven by…
Large ground- and space-based telescopes will be able to observe Earth-like planets in the near future. We explore how different planetary surfaces can strongly influence the climate, atmospheric composition, and remotely detectable spectra…
Small rocky planets, as well as larger planets that suffered extensive volatile loss, tend to be drier and have thinner atmospheres as compared to Earth. Such planets probably outnumber worlds better endowed with volatiles, being the most…
Stellar magnetism, explorable via polarimetry, is a crucial driver of activity, ionization, photodissociation, chemistry and winds in stellar environments. Thus it has an important impact on the atmospheres and magnetospheres of surrounding…
The atmospheres of highly irradiated exoplanets are observed to undergo hydrodynamic escape. However, due to strong pressures, stellar winds can confine planetary atmospheres, reducing their escape. Here, we investigate under which…
Clouds also form in atmospheres of planets that orbit other stars than our Sun, in so-called extrasolar planets or exoplanets. Exoplanet atmospheres can be chemically extremely rich. Exoplanet clouds are therefor made of a mix of materials…
The circumstellar habitable zone and its various refinements serves as a useful entry point for discussing the potential for a planet to generate and sustain life. But little attention is paid to the quality of available energy in the form…
Space weather refers to conditions on the Sun, in the interplanetary space and in the Earth space environment that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems and can endanger human…
Magnetic storms on stars manifest as remarkable, randomly occurring changes of the luminosity over durations that are tiny in comparison to the normal evolution of stars. These stellar flares are bursts of electromagnetic radiation from…
Surface magnetism is believed to be the main driver of coronal heating and stellar wind acceleration. Coronae are believed to be formed by plasma confined in closed magnetic coronal loops of the stars, with winds mainly originating in open…
Atmospheric escape of close-in exoplanets can be driven by high energy radiation from the host star. The planetary outflows interacting with the stellar wind may generate observable transit signals that depend on the strength of the stellar…
Stellar activity and planetary atmospheric properties have the potential to strongly influence habitability. To date, neither have been adequately studied in the multiverse context, so there has been no assessment of how these effects…
The discovery of planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has accelerated over the past decade, and this trend will continue as new space- and ground-based observatories employ next-generation instrumentation to search the skies for…