Planet habitability in light of state-of-the-art models of host stars

• Research unit: COST
• Project number: C14.0049

Key words (English)

Planet habitability; Star-planet interactions; Formation and evolution of planet and planet host stars; Astrobiology; Life in the Universe

Research programs (English)

COST-Action TD1308 - Origins and evolution of life on Earth and in the Universe

Short description (English)

The discovery of more than one thousand exoplanets of incredible diversity as well as a better understanding of the complex interactions between extrasolar planets and their host stars make the present a particularly exciting time to bring new clues on the fundamental question of planet habitability. This project aims at developing tailor-made stellar-planet models to investigate the key factors that influence planet hability all along the evolution of host stars and of their planetary systems. These model predictions will be used to determine reliable mass, ages, and habitable conditions of extrasolar confirmed planets and planetary candidates whose list extends constantly. They will be made available to the astrophysics and astrobiology communities through a database and web tools, which is a key milestone of COST Action TD 1308. Our ultimate goal is to build a clear picture of hability conditions (or 'habitability map') for exoplanets around nearby stars as well as in different Galactic environments and at different cosmic times. This project is important for the scientific exploitation of dedicated present and future space missions and ground-based instruments in which Switzerland is strongly engaged (Corot/ESA, Kepler/NASA, PLATO/ESA, PRIMA, ESPRESSO, HARPS-NEF, HARPS-FP, SPHERE, EulerCam). It is lead by Prof.Charbonnel, Swiss representative in the COST TD1308, co-leader of WG1 'Understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems and habitable planets'.

Partners and International Organizations (English)

AT; BE; HR; CZ; DK; EE; FI; FR; DE; EL; HU; IS; IE; IL; IT; LV; LT; NL; NO; PL; PT; RO; RS; SK; SI; ES; SE; UK; ZA

Abstract (English)

The discovery of more than one thousand exoplanets of incredible diversity as well as a better understanding of the complex interactions between extrasolar planets and their host stars make the present a particularly exciting time to bring new clues on the fundamental question of planet habitability. The project “Planet habitability in light of state-of-the-art models of host stars” aims at developing tailor-made stellar-planet models to investigate the key factors that influence planet hability all along the evolution of host stars and of their planetary systems. These model predictions will be used to determine reliable mass, ages, and habitable conditions of extrasolar confirmed planets and planetary candidates whose list extends constantly. They will be made available to the astrophysics and astrobiology communities through a database and web tools, which is a key milestone of COST Action TD 1308. The ultimate goal is to build a clear picture of habitability conditions (or 'habitability map') for exoplanets around nearby stars as well as in different Galactic environments and at different cosmic times. This project is important for the scientific exploitation of dedicated present and future space missions and ground-based instruments in which Switzerland is strongly engaged (Corot/ESA, Kepler/NASA, PLATO/ESA, PRIMA, ESPRESSO, HARPS-NEF, HARPS-FP, SPHERE, EulerCam). It is lead by Prof. C.Charbonnel, Swiss representative in the COST TD1308, co-leader of WG1 'Understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems and habitable planets'. The project is financed by SERI contract C14.0049 (postdoc position for Dr F.Gallet).

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: COST-DB of the State Secretariat for Education and Research Hallwylstrasse 4 CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland Tel. [phone] Swiss Project-Number: C14.0049