IAFE   05512
INSTITUTO DE ASTRONOMIA Y FISICA DEL ESPACIO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Flare Activity and UV Habitability in Extrasolar Planets
Autor/es:
ABREVAYA, X. C.; CORTÓN, E.; MAUAS, P.J.D.
Reunión:
Conferencia; Extraterrestrial Life - Beyond our expectations?; 2012
Resumen:
Usually, dwarf M stars are targets in the search for extraterrestrial life outside of
our solar system. They are choose among other stars because they are the most
abudant in the galaxy, the liquid-water habitable zone (LW-HZ) is closer to
these colder stars and it would be therefore easier to detect a terrestrial
planet inside it. However, it is believed that planets in the LW-HZ should be
tidally locked, which implies that this planetary body would have a hot face
and a cold one, but recent atmospheric modeling provided evidences that the
heat in the hot face could be transferred to the cold face. Furthermore there
is another factor to analyze if planets around these stars in the LW-HZ could
be suitable for life due flare activity in many of these stars (dMe stars), could
have a strong impact over potential life beings. In particular in this work we
analize the capability of UV-resistant microorganisms such as halophilic archaea,
to survive the strong UV radiation characteristic of flare activity in dMe
stars. Our results showed that the microorganisms can survive at the tested
doses, showing that this kind of life could thrive in these extreme environments
from the UV point of view.