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Extreme hydrodynamic losses of Earth-like atmospheres in the habitable zones of very active stars

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Johnstone, C. P., Khodachenko, M. L., Lüftinger, T., Kislyakova, K. G., Lammer, H., Güdel, M.·2019·Astronomy & Astrophysics
DOI 10.1051/0004-6361/201935279
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Abstract

Aims. In this Letter, we calculate for the first time the full transonic hydrodynamic escape of an Earth-like atmosphere. We consider the case of an Earth-mass planet with an atmospheric composition identical to that of the current Earth orbiting at 1 AU around a young and very active solar mass star. Methods. To model the upper atmosphere, we used the Kompot Code, which is a first-principles model that calculates the physical structures of the upper atmospheres of planets, taking into account hydrodynamics and the main chemical and thermal processes taking place in the upper atmosphere of a planet. This model enabled us to calculate the 1D vertical structure of the atmosphere using as input the high-energy spectrum of a young and active Sun. Results. The atmosphere has the form of a transonic hydrodynamic Parker wind, which has an outflow velocity at the upper boundary of our computational domain that exceeds the escape velocity. The outflowing gas is dominated by atomic nitrogen and oxygen and their ion equivalents and has a maximum ionization fraction of 20%. The mass outflow rate is found to be 1.8 × 109 g s−1, which would erode the modern Earth’s atmosphere in less than 0.1 Myr. Conclusions. This extreme mass loss rate suggests that an Earth-like atmosphere cannot form when the planet is orbiting within the habitable zone of a very active star. Instead, such an atmosphere can only form after the activity of the star has decreased to a much lower level. This happened in the early atmosphere of the Earth, which was likely dominated by other gases such as CO2. Since the time it takes for the activity of a star to decay is highly dependent on its mass, this is important for understanding possible formation timescales for planets orbiting low-mass stars.

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  • Under the very high XUV flux expected for the young Sun during the early Hadean, the Earth's modern atmosphere would be heated so much that it would escape to space at rates high enough to rapidly remove the entire atmosphere.

    “Under the very high XUV flux that we would expect for the young Sun during the early Hadean, the Earth's modern atmosphere would be heated so much that it would escape to space at rates high enough to rapidly remove the entire atmosphere (Johnstone et al. 2019).”

    From The young Sun's XUV-activity as a constraint for lower CO2-limits in the Earth's Archean atmosphere (2021) · cites this paper as Johnstone et al. 2019

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Johnstone, C. P., Khodachenko, M. L., Lüftinger, T., Kislyakova, K. G., Lammer, H., & Güdel, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Vienna (AT)
  • Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
  • Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
ORCID
Venue
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Publisher
EDP Sciences
Published
2019-04
Volume
624
Pages
L10
ISSN
  • 0004-6361 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-0746
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/201935279
OpenAlex
W2935464616
Cited by
79
References
25
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 3
FWCI
5.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.edpsciences.org/en/authors/copyright-and-licensing (vor, 18 d)
Locations
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • Austrian Science Fund (S11601-N16, S11604-N16, S11606-N16, S11607-N16, I2939-N27)
  • Russian Foundation for Basic Research (16-52-14006)
  • Russian Science Foundation (18-12-00080)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
Keywords
atmospheric escape, Earth-like atmospheres, habitable zone, stellar activity, mass loss rate, upper atmosphere modeling, ionization fraction, early Earth atmosphere, planet formation timescales, low-mass stars

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