A Maximum Radius for Habitable Planets
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BORIS DOI
Date of Publication
September 2015
Publication Type
Article
Division/Institute
Series
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres
ISSN or ISBN (if monograph)
0169-6149
Publisher
Springer
Language
English
Publisher DOI
Uncontrolled Keywords
Description
We compute the maximum radius a planet can have in order to fulfill two constraints that are likely necessary conditions for habitability: 1- surface temperature and pressure compatible with the existence of liquid water, and 2- no ice layer at the bottom of a putative global ocean, that would prevent the operation of the geologic carbon cycle to operate. We demonstrate that, above a given radius, these two constraints cannot be met: in the Super-Earth mass range (1-12 M-earth), the overall maximum that a planet can have varies between 1.8 and 2.3 R-earth. This radius is reduced when considering planets with higher Fe/Si ratios, and taking into account irradiation effects on the structure of the gas envelope.
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File | File Type | Format | Size | License | Publisher/Copright statement | Content | |
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art%3A10.1007%2Fs11084-015-9440-7.pdf | text | Adobe PDF | 436.35 KB | publisher | published |