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|a Tian, Feng
|e author
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|a Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
|e contributor
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|a Tian, Feng
|e contributor
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|a THERMAL ESCAPE FROM SUPER EARTH ATMOSPHERES IN THE HABITABLE ZONES OF M STARS
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|b Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society,
|c 2015-03-26T15:36:24Z.
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|z Get fulltext
|u http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/96200
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|a A fundamental question for exoplanet habitability is the long-term stability of the planet's atmosphere. We numerically solve a one-dimensional multi-component hydrodynamic thermosphere/ionosphere model to examine the thermal and chemical responses of the primary CO[subscript 2] atmospheres of heavy super Earths (6-10 Earth masses) in the habitable zones of typical low-mass M stars to the enhanced soft X-ray and ultraviolet (XUV) fluxes associated with the prolonged high-activity levels of M stars. The results show that such atmospheres are stable against thermal escape, even for M stars XUV enhancements as large as 1000 compared to the present Earth. It is possible that the CO[subscript 2]-dominant atmospheres of super Earths in the habitable zones of M stars could potentially contain modest amount of free oxygen as a result of more efficient atmosphere escape of carbon than oxygen instead of photosynthesis.
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|a en_US
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|a Article
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|t Astrophysical Journal
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