Is Proxima Centauri b Habitable? A Study of Atmospheric Loss

Journal Article · Fri Mar 10 04:00:00 EST 2017 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/AA6438· OSTI ID:22654517

Dong, Chuanfei ^[1]; Lingam, Manasvi ^[2]; Ma, Yingjuan ^[3]; Cohen, Ofer ^[4]

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1. Department of Astrophysical Sciences and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)
2. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
3. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States)
4. Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854 (United States)

We address the important question of whether the newly discovered exoplanet, Proxima Centauri b (PCb), is capable of retaining an atmosphere over long periods of time. This is done by adapting a sophisticated multi-species MHD model originally developed for Venus and Mars and computing the ion escape losses from PCb. The results suggest that the ion escape rates are about two orders of magnitude higher than the terrestrial planets of our Solar system if PCb is unmagnetized. In contrast, if the planet does have an intrinsic dipole magnetic field, the rates are lowered for certain values of the stellar wind dynamic pressure, but they are still higher than the observed values for our solar system’s terrestrial planets. These results must be interpreted with due caution since most of the relevant parameters for PCb remain partly or wholly unknown.

• OSTI ID: 22654517
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 837; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
DIPOLES
EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
LOSSES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
MARS PLANET
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SATELLITES
SOLAR SYSTEM
STARS
STELLAR WINDS
VENUS PLANET