Exoplanetology: Exoplanets & Exomoons

On the Radius of Habitable Planets

By Keith Cowing
astro-ph.EP
November 13, 2013
Filed under ,
On the Radius of Habitable Planets

The conditions that a planet must fulfill to be habitable are not precisely known. However, it is comparatively easier to define conditions under which a planet is very likely not habitable.

Finding such conditions is important as it can help select, in an ensemble of potentially observable planets, which ones should be observed in greater detail for characterization studies. Assuming, as in the Earth, that the presence of a C-cycle is a necessary condition for long-term habitability, we derive, as a function of the planetary mass, a radius above which a planet is likely not habitable.

We compute the maximum radius a planet can have to fulfill two constraints: surface conditions compatible with the existence of liquid water, and no ice layer at the bottom of a putative global ocean. We demonstrate that, above a given radius, these two constraints cannot be met. We compute internal structure models of planets, using a five-layer model (core, inner mantle, outer mantle, ocean, and atmosphere), for different masses and composition of the planets (in particular, the Fe/Si ratio of the planet).

Our results show that for planets in the Super-Earth mass range (1-12 Mearth), the maximum that a planet, with a composition similar to that of the Earth, can have varies between 1.7 and 2.2 Rearth. This radius is reduced when considering planets with higher Fe/Si ratios and taking radiation into account when computing the gas envelope structure. These results can be used to infer, from radius and mass determinations using high-precision transit observations like those that will soon be performed by the CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS), which planets are very likely not habitable, and therefore which ones should be considered as best targets for further habitability studies.}

Yann Alibert (Submitted on 13 Nov 2013)

Comments: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)

Cite as: arXiv:1311.3039 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:1311.3039v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)

Submission history From: Yann Alibert [v1] Wed, 13 Nov 2013 07:45:21 GMT (279kb,D)

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻