3D modelling of the impact of stellar activity on tidally locked terrestrial exoplanets: atmospheric composition and habitability

Abstract

Stellar flares present challenges to the potential habitability of terrestrial planets orbiting M dwarf stars through inducing changes in the atmospheric composition and irradiating the planet's surface in large amounts of ultraviolet light. To examine their impact, we have coupled a general circulation model with a photochemical kinetics scheme to examine the response and changes of an Earth-like atmosphere to stellar flares and coronal mass ejections. We find that stellar flares increase the amount of ozone in the atmosphere by a factor of 20 compared to a quiescent star. We find that coronal mass ejections abiotically generate significant levels of potential bio-signatures such as N${}_2$O. The changes in atmospheric composition cause a moderate decrease in the amount of ultraviolet light that reaches the planets surface, suggesting that while flares are potentially harmful to life, the changes in the atmosphere due to a stellar flare act to reduce the impact of the next stellar flare.

27 pages, 21 figures, accepted to MNRAS

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Cited by in corpus (19)

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• Setting the stage for the search for life with the Habitable Worlds Observatory: Properties of 164 promising planet survey targets
• Super-Earths and Earth-like Exoplanets
• Stratospheric dayside-to-nightside circulation drives the 3-D ozone distribution on synchronously rotating rocky exoplanets
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• 3D simulations of the Archean Earth including photochemical haze profiles
• Temperature-chemistry coupling in the evolution of gas giant atmospheres driven by stellar flares
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