Related papers: Constraints in the coupling Star-Life
An approach to modelling the universe based on the requisites of gravitational energy. This model is explained as it relates to the stages of the universal life cycle and the continued existence of the universe as it is known today. The…
Stars accrete near invisible hydrogen dominated agglomerates. This population, the `dark matter,' effects the nature of stars. Measurements show plasma streams impacting Earth, planets, Sun and stars. This mass-energy source contradicts…
The commonly accepted mechanism governing the formation of the nascent wind in oxygen-rich AGB stars combines an initial boost above the photosphere, given by shock waves resulting from stellar pulsations and convective cell granulation,…
With the Cassini-Huygens Mission in orbit around Saturn, the large moon Titan, with its reducing atmosphere, rich organic chemistry, and heterogeneous surface, moves into the astrobiological spotlight. Environmental conditions on Titan and…
It is sometimes asserted that the rapidity of biogenesis on Earth suggests that life is common in the Universe. We critically examine the assumptions inherent in this argument. Using a lottery model for biogenesis in the Universe, we…
Equations governing the evolution of a star involve multiple coupling constants. Thus, the time it spends as a main-sequence star can be expected to depend on whether or not such constants vary over the time scale of stellar evolution. When…
Evolved stars dominate galactic spectra, enrich the galactic medium, expand to change their planetary systems, eject winds of a complex nature, produce spectacular nebulae and illuminate them, and transfer material between binary…
Life depends as much on the flow of information as on the flow of energy. Here we review the many efforts to make this intuition precise. Starting with the building blocks of information theory, we explore examples where it has been…
Habitability is a measure of an environment's potential to support life, and a habitable exoplanet supports liquid water on its surface. However, a planet's success in maintaining liquid water on its surface is the end result of a complex…
The liquid water habitable zone (HZ) describes the orbital distance at which a terrestrial planet can maintain above-freezing conditions through regulation by the carbonate-silicate cycle. Recent calculations have suggested that planets in…
Each time diffusion of elements is invoked in explaining abundance anomalies in a star, this supposes implicitly that a stratification process is in progress somewhere in that star. This means also, that the element abundances can still be…
We present a brief overview of the main effects by which a star will have an impact (positive or negative) on the surface habitability of planets in orbit around it. Specifically, we review how spectral, spatial and temporal variations in…
There are several physical processes that mediate the interaction between an exoplanet and its host star, with the four main ones being due to magnetic, particle (stellar outflow), radiative and tidal interactions. These interactions can be…
The existence of plate tectonics on the Earth is directly dependent on the internal viscosity contrast, mass of the planet, availability of liquid water and an internal heat source. However, the initial conditions of rotational velocity and…
We discuss the determination of fundamental parameters of `normal' hot, massive OB-type stars, namely temperatures, luminosities, masses, gravities and surface abundances. We also present methods used to derive properties of stellar winds…
A star's luminosity increases as it evolves along the Main Sequence (MS), which inevitably results in a higher surface temperature for planets in orbit around the star. Technologically advanced civilizations may tackle this issue by…
Interactions between the winds of stars and the magnetospheres and atmospheres of planets involve many processes, including the acceleration of particles, heating of upper atmospheres, and a diverse range of atmospheric loss processes.…
It is now generally accepted that long gamma-ray bursts are associated with the final evolutionary stages of massive stars. As a consequence, their jets must propagate through the stellar progenitor and break out on their surface, before…
There exists a positive correlation between orbital eccentricity and the average stellar flux that planets receive from their parent star. Often, though, it is assumed that the average equilibrium temperature would correspondingly increase…
After Earth's origin, our host star, the Sun, was shining 20 to 25 percent less brightly than today. Without greenhouse-like conditions to warm the atmosphere, our early planet would have been an ice ball and life may never have evolved.…