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The Contribution of M-Dwarf Flares to the Thermal Escape of Potentially Habitable Planet Atmospheres
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Submitted 18 Mar 2022
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim In this parameter range, we find that flares can remove up to two TO more than nonflaring stars, which, in some cases, translates to a doubling of the total water loss.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
The habitability of planets around M dwarfs ($\lesssim 0.5 M_\odot$) can be affected by the XUV (X rays + extreme UV) emission of these stars, with flares occasionally increasing the XUV flux by more than 2 orders of magnitude above quiescent levels. This wavelength range can warm and ionize terrestrial planets' upper atmospheres, which expands the planetary radius and promotes atmospheric loss. In this work, we study the contribution of the XUV flux due to flares on the atmospheric escape of Earth-like planets orbiting M dwarfs through numerical simulations. We considered the first Gyr of planets with initial surface water abundances between 1 and 10 terrestrial oceans (TO), a small primordial hydrogen envelope ($\le$ $10^{-3}$~$M_{\oplus}$), and with host star masses between 0.2 and 0.6 $M_{\odot}$. In this parameter range, we find that flares can remove up to two TO more than nonflaring stars, which, in some cases, translates to a doubling of the total water loss. We also find that flaring can increase atmospheric oxygen partial pressures by hundreds of bars in some cases. These results were obtained by adding a new module for flares to the \vplanet software package and upgrading its atmospheric escape module to account for Roche lobe overflow and radiation/recombination-limited escape.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | The habitability of planets around M dwarfs ($\lesssim 0.5 M_\odot$) can be affected by the XUV (X rays + extreme UV) emission of these stars, with flares occasionally increasing the XUV flux by more than 2 orders of magnitude above quiescent levels. | background 1.00 | 0.06 | 0.03 | hedged possibility 0.59 |
| s1 | This wavelength range can warm and ionize terrestrial planets' upper atmospheres, which expands the planetary radius and promotes atmospheric loss. | background 1.00 | 0.05 | 0.03 | asserted 0.91 |
| s2 | In this work, we study the contribution of the XUV flux due to flares on the atmospheric escape of Earth-like planets orbiting M dwarfs through numerical simulations. | contribution 0.99 | 0.93 | 0.04 | asserted 0.79 |
| s3 | We considered the first Gyr of planets with initial surface water abundances between 1 and 10 terrestrial oceans (TO), a small primordial hydrogen envelope ($\le$ $10^{-3}$~$M_{\oplus}$), and with host star masses between 0.2 and 0.6 $M_{\odot}$. | method 0.91 | 0.66 | 0.02 | asserted 0.86 |
| s4 | In this parameter range, we find that flares can remove up to two TO more than nonflaring stars, which, in some cases, translates to a doubling of the total water loss. | result 1.00 | 0.97 | 0.67 | asserted 0.99 |
| s5 | We also find that flaring can increase atmospheric oxygen partial pressures by hundreds of bars in some cases. | result 1.00 | 0.96 | 0.14 | asserted 0.99 |
| s6 | These results were obtained by adding a new module for flares to the \vplanet software package and upgrading its atmospheric escape module to account for Roche lobe overflow and radiation/recombination-limited escape. | method 0.97 | 0.92 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
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Original abstract
The habitability of planets around M dwarfs ($\lesssim 0.5 M_\odot$) can be affected by the XUV (X rays + extreme UV) emission of these stars, with flares occasionally increasing the XUV flux by more than 2 orders of magnitude above quiescent levels. This wavelength range can warm and ionize terrestrial planets' upper atmospheres, which expands the planetary radius and promotes atmospheric loss. In this work, we study the contribution of the XUV flux due to flares on the atmospheric escape of Earth-like planets orbiting M dwarfs through numerical simulations. We considered the first Gyr of planets with initial surface water abundances between 1 and 10 terrestrial oceans (TO), a small primordial hydrogen envelope ($\le$ $10^{-3}$~$M_{\oplus}$), and with host star masses between 0.2 and 0.6 $M_{\odot}$. In this parameter range, we find that flares can remove up to two TO more than nonflaring stars, which, in some cases, translates to a doubling of the total water loss. We also find that flaring can increase atmospheric oxygen partial pressures by hundreds of bars in some cases. These results were obtained by adding a new module for flares to the \vplanet software package and upgrading its atmospheric escape module to account for Roche lobe overflow and radiation/recombination-limited escape.
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References
How the literature uses it
6 arXiv papers cite this in 6 sentences
Papers citing it · 4 sentences without a confident label
Cites it as support 1 paper
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In the presence of high energy flares, constant bombardment can lead to significant atmospheric erosion and high rates of water loss [ref] .
Identifying Flare Locations Through Exoplanet Transit Occultations · Introduction · 0.97
Cites it as background 1 paper
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However, the long-term habitability of such planets depends crucially on the stability of their atmospheres, which are subject to high X-ray + extreme UV (XUV) emissions during the pre-main-sequence phase of their M-dwarf hosts [ref] as well as flare events [ref] that can drive atmospheric escape [ref] .
High-Resolution Transmission Spectroscopy of the Terrestrial Exoplanet GJ 486b · Introduction · 0.84
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