The habitability of stagnant-lid Earths around dwarf stars

¹ Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany
e-mail: godolt@astro.physik.tu-berlin.de
² Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
³ Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
⁴ Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74–100, 12249 Berlin, Germany

Received: 15 November 2018
Accepted: 28 February 2019

Abstract

Context. The habitability of a planet depends on various factors, such as the delivery of water during its formation, the co-evolution of the interior and the atmosphere, and the stellar irradiation which changes in time.

Aims. Since an unknown number of rocky extrasolar planets may operate in a one-plate convective regime, i.e. without plate tectonics, our aim is to understand the conditions under which planets in such a stagnant-lid regime may support habitable surface conditions. Understanding the interaction of the planetary interior and outgassing of volatiles in combination with the evolution of the host star is crucial to determining the potential habitability. M-dwarf stars in particular possess a high-luminosity pre-main sequence phase that endangers the habitability of planets around them via water loss. We therefore explore the potential of secondary outgassing from the planetary interior to rebuild a water reservoir allowing for habitability at a later stage.

Methods. We compute the boundaries of the habitable zone around M-, K-, G-, and F-dwarf stars using a 1D cloud-free radiative-convective climate model accounting for the outgassing history of CO₂ and H₂O from an interior evolution and outgassing model for different interior compositions and stellar luminosity evolutions.

Results. The outer edge of the habitable zone strongly depends on the amount of CO₂ outgassed from the interior, while the inner edge is mainly determined via the stellar irradiation, as soon as a sufficiently large water reservoir has been outgassed. A build-up of a secondary surface and atmospheric water reservoir for planets around M-dwarf stars is possible even after severe water loss during the high-luminosity pre-main sequence phase as long as some water has been retained within the mantle. For small mantle water reservoirs, between 62 and 125 ppm, a time delay in outgassing from the interior permits such a secondary water reservoir build-up especially for early and mid-M dwarfs because their pre-main sequence lifetimes are shorter than the outgassing timescale.

Conclusions. We show that Earth-like stagnant-lid planets allow for habitable surface conditions within a continuous habitable zone that is dependent on interior composition. Secondary outgassing from the interior may allow for habitability of planets around M-dwarf stars after severe water loss during the high-luminosity pre-main sequence phase by rebuilding a surface water reservoir.