Physics Commons^™

How Hospitable Are Space Weather Affected Habitable Zones? The Role Of Ion Escape, Vladimir S. Airapetian, Alex Glocer, George V. Khazanov, Robert O Parke Loyd, Kevin France, Jan Josef Sojka, William C. Danchi, Michael W. Liemohn

All Physics Faculty Publications

Atmospheres of exoplanets in the habitable zones around active young G-K-M stars are subject to extreme X-ray and EUV (XUV) fluxes from their host stars that can initiate atmospheric erosion. Atmospheric loss affects exoplanetary habitability in terms of surface water inventory, atmospheric pressure, the efficiency of greenhouse warming, and the dosage of the UV surface irradiation. Thermal escape models suggest that exoplanetary atmospheres around active K-M stars should undergo massive hydrogen escape, while heavier species including oxygen will accumulate forming an oxidizing atmosphere. Here, we show that non-thermal oxygen ion escape could be as important as thermal, hydrodynamic H escape …