EUV influences on exoplanet atmospheric stability and evolution [EPA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1903.05718


The planetary effective surface temperature alone is insufficient to characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their stability or evolution. Considering the star-planet system as a whole is necessary, and a critical component of the system is the photoionizing stellar extreme ultraviolet emission (EUV; 100-912 {\AA}). EUV photons drive atmospheric mass loss through thermal and nonthermal processes, and an accurate accounting of the EUV energy deposition in a planet’s energy budget is essential, especially for terrestrial habitable zone planets and close-in gaseous planets. Direct EUV observations of exoplanet host stars would require a new, dedicated observatory. Archival observations from the $\textit{EUVE}$ satellite, models, and theory alone are insufficient to accurately characterize EUV spectra of the majority of exoplanet host stars, especially for low-mass stars.

Read this paper on arXiv…

A. Youngblood, K. France, T. Koskinen, et. al.
Fri, 15 Mar 19
61/67

Comments: Science white paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. 7 pages, 2 figures