Galactic Habitability Research Articles

Solar System Migration Points to a Renewed Concept: Galactic Habitable Orbits

Abstract Astrophysical evidence suggests that the Sun was born near 5 kpc from the Galactic center, within the corotation radius of the Galactic bar, around 6–7 kpc. This presents challenges for outward migration due to the Jacobi energy constraint, preventing stars from easily overcoming the corotation barrier. In this study, we use test particle simulations to explore two possible migration pathways for the Sun: a “trapped” scenario, where the Sun's orbit was influenced by a slowing Galactic bar, and an “untrapped” scenario driven by dynamic spiral arms. Our results demonstrate that both mechanisms can explain how the Sun migrated from its birth radius (≈5 kpc) to its current orbital radius around 8.5–9 kpc. Furthermore, we investigate the environmental changes experienced by the Sun along these migration pathways, focusing on variations in radiation hazards and comet fluxes, which may have impacted planetary habitability. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of galactic habitability, emphasizing that the path a star takes within the Milky Way can significantly affect its surrounding environment and the potential for life. We propose a new concept of “Galactic habitable orbits,” which accounts for evolving galactic structures and their effects on stellar and planetary systems. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of the solar system's migration and its implications for habitability within the Milky Way.

Dynamical aspects of Galactic habitability in N-body simulations

AbstractRecent studies of Galactic evolution revealed that the dynamics of the stellar component might be one of the key factors when considering galactic habitability. We run an N-body simulation model of the Milky Way, which we evolve for 10 Gyr, to study the secular evolution of stellar orbits and the resulting galactic habitability related properties, i.e., the density of the stellar component and close stellar encounters. The results indicate that radial migrations are not negligible, even in a simple axisymmetric model with mild levels of dynamical heating, and that the net outward diffusion of the stellar component can populate galactic outskirts with habitable systems. Habitable environment is also likely even at sub-Solar galactocentric radii, because the rate of close encounters should not significantly degrade habitability. Stars that evolve from non-circular to stable nearly circular orbits typically migrate outwards, settling down in a broad Solar neighbourhood. The region between$R \approx 3$kpc and$R \approx 12$kpc represents the zone of radial mixing, which can blur the boundaries of the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), as it has been conventionally understood. The present-day stable population of the stars in the Solar neighbourhood originates from this radial mixing zone, with most of the stars coming from the inner regions. The Solar system can be considered as a typical Milky Way habitable system because it migrated outwards from the metal-rich inner regions of the Disk and has a circular orbit in the present epoch. We conclude that the boundaries of the GHZ cannot be sharply confined for a given epoch because of the mixing caused by the stellar migrations and secular evolution of stellar orbits.

Statistical Properties of Habitable Zones in Stellar Binary Systems

Abstract Observations of exoplanets and protoplanetary disks show that binary stellar systems can host planets in stable orbits. Given the high binary fraction among stars, the contribution of binary systems to Galactic habitability should be quantified. Therefore, we have designed a suite of Monte Carlo experiments aimed at generating large (up to 106) samples of binary systems. For each system randomly extracted we calculate the intersection between the radiative habitable zones (HZs) and the regions of dynamical stability using published empirical formulations that account for the dynamical and radiative parameters of both stars of the system. We also consider constraints on planetary formation in binary systems. We find that the habitability properties of circumstellar and circumbinary regions are quite different and complementary with respect to the binary system parameters. Circumbinary HZs are, generally, rare (≃4%) in the global population of binary systems, even if they are common for stellar separations ≲0.2 au. Conversely, circumstellar HZs are frequent (≥80%) in the global population but are rare for stellar separations ≲1 au. These results are robust against variations of poorly constrained binary system parameters. We derive ranges of stellar separations and stellar masses for which HZs in binary systems can be wider than the HZs around single stars; the widening can be particularly strong (up to one order of magnitude) for circumstellar regions around M-type secondary stars. The comparison of our statistical predictions with observational surveys shows the impact of selection effects on the habitability properties of detected exoplanets in binary systems.

The impact of tidal disruption events on galactic habitability

ABSTRACTTidal disruption events (TDEs) are characterized by the emission of a short burst of high-energy radiation. We analyse the cumulative impact of TDEs on galactic habitability using the Milky Way as a proxy. We show that X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted during TDEs can cause hydrodynamic escape and instigate biological damage. By taking the appropriate variables into consideration, such as the efficiency of atmospheric escape and distance from the Galactic centre, we demonstrate that the impact of TDEs on galactic habitability is comparable to that of active galactic nuclei. In particular, we show that planets within distances of ∼0.1–1 kpc could lose Earth-like atmospheres over the age of the Earth, and that some of them might be subject to biological damage once every ≳ 104 yr. We conclude by highlighting potential ramifications of TDEs and argue that they should be factored into future analyses of inner galactic habitability.

Erratum: Galactic habitability re-examined: indications of bimodality

Erratum: Galactic habitability re-examined: indications of bimodality

Galactic habitability re-examined: indications of bimodality

ABSTRACTThe problem of the extent of habitable zones in different kinds of galaxies is one of the outstanding challenges for contemporary astrobiology. In the present study, we investigate habitability in a large sample of simulated galaxies from the illustris Project in order to at least roughly quantify the hospitality to life of different galactic types. The pioneering study of Dayal et al. is critically examined and some of its results are amended. In particular, we find a tentative evidence for a second mode of galactic habitability comprising metal-rich dwarfs similar to IC 225, LMC, or M32. The role of the galactic environment and the observation-selection effects is briefly discussed and prospects for further research on the topic outlined.

Active Galactic Nuclei: Boon or Bane for Biota?

Abstract Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) emit substantial fluxes of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, and have therefore attracted some recent attention for their negative impact on galactic habitability. In this paper, we propose that AGNs may also engender the following beneficial effects: (i) prebiotic synthesis of biomolecular building blocks mediated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and (ii) powering photosynthesis on certain free-floating planets and moons. We also reassess the harmful biological impact of UV radiation originating from AGNs, and find that their significance could have been overestimated. Our calculations suggest that neither the positive nor negative ramifications stemming from a hypothetical AGN in the Milky Way are likely to affect putative biospheres in most of our Galaxy. On the other hand, we find that a sizable fraction of all planetary systems in galaxies with either disproportionately massive black holes (∼109–10 M ⊙) or high stellar densities (e.g., compact dwarf galaxies) might be susceptible to both the beneficial and detrimental consequences of AGNs, with the former potentially encompassing a greater spatial extent than the latter.

Advanced aspects of Galactic habitability

Context. Astrobiological evolution of the Milky Way (or the shape of its “astrobiological landscape”) has emerged as a key research topic in recent years. In order to build precise, quantitative models of the Galactic habitability, we need to account for two opposing tendencies of life and intelligence in the most general context: the tendency to spread to all available ecological niches (conventionally dubbed “colonization”) and the tendency to succumb to various types of existential catastrophes (“catastrophism”). These evolutionary tendencies have become objects of study in fields such as ecology, macroevolution, risk analysis, and futures studies, though a serious astrobiological treatment has so far been lacking.Aims. Our aim is to numerically investigate the dynamics of opposed processes of expansion (panspermia, colonization) and extinction (catastrophic mechanisms) of life in the Galaxy.Methods. We employed a new type of numerical simulation based on 1D probabilistic cellular automaton with very high temporal resolution, in order to study astrobiological dynamics.Results. While the largest part of the examined parameter space shows very low habitability values, as expected, the remaining part has some observationally appealing features that imply, among other things, a reduction in the amount of fine-tuning necessary for resolving the Fermi paradox.Conclusions. Advanced aspects of Galactic habitability are amenable to precision studies using massive parallel computer simulations. There are regions of the parameter space that correspond to a quasi-stationary state satisfying observable constraints and possessing viable SETI targets.

Evaluating galactic habitability using high-resolution cosmological simulations of galaxy formation

AbstractWe present the first model that couples high-resolution simulations of the formation of local group galaxies with calculations of the galactic habitable zone (GHZ), a region of space which has sufficient metallicity to form terrestrial planets without being subject to hazardous radiation. These simulations allow us to make substantial progress in mapping out the asymmetric three-dimensional GHZ and its time evolution for the Milky Way (MW) and Triangulum (M33) galaxies, as opposed to works that generally assume an azimuthally symmetric GHZ. Applying typical habitability metrics to MW and M33, we find that while a large number of habitable planets exist as close as a few kiloparsecs from the galactic centre, the probability of individual planetary systems being habitable rises as one approaches the edge of the stellar disc. Tidal streams and satellite galaxies also appear to be fertile grounds for habitable planet formation. In short, we find that both galaxies arrive at similar GHZs by different evolutionary paths, as measured by the first and third quartiles of surviving biospheres. For the MW, this interquartile range begins as a narrow band at large radii, expanding to encompass much of the Galaxy at intermediate times before settling at a range of 2–13 kpc. In the case of M33, the opposite behaviour occurs – the initial and final interquartile ranges are quite similar, showing gradual evolution. This suggests that Galaxy assembly history strongly influences the time evolution of the GHZ, which will affect the relative time lag between biospheres in different galactic locations. We end by noting the caveats involved in such studies and demonstrate that high-resolution cosmological simulations will play a vital role in understanding habitability on galactic scales, provided that these simulations accurately resolve chemical evolution.

Number of Galactic Civilizations

A probabilistic assessment is made to determine the likely range of galactic civilizations. In order to define the possible number of advanced galactic civilizations, the number of habitable planets is being determined with the help of a newly formulated probability equation. This equation is expressing the number of habitable planets in terms of the as- sumed galaxy size, the number of critical habitability criteria and the star and planet compliance rates with these criteria. For effectiveness the equation uses instead of the individual compliance rates with the various habitability criteria the geometric mean of the compliance rates with the criteria. This simplifies the calculational approach considerably and makes it possible to obtain the necessary data to assess the extent of galactic habitability. These data are included in a Ga- lactic Habitability Table which presents in this way a complete overview of galactic habitability of a given galaxy as a function of the number of critical criteria and the mean compliance rate with these criteria. While no scientific certainty exists at present time for the exact values of these two parameters, zones of high probability can already be assessed. For any number of habitability criteria assumed a minimum star and planet compliance ratio can be determined which is re- quired for the existence of advanced civilizations in a galaxy of any given size. As the next step the issue of concurrent communicating civilizations has also been addressed.

On the origin and evolution of life in the Galaxy

AbstractA simple stochastic model for evolution, based upon the need to pass a sequence of n critical steps is applied to both terrestrial and extraterrestrial origins of life. In the former case, the time at which humans have emerged during the habitable period of Earth suggests a value of n=4. Progressively adding earlier evolutionary transitions gives an optimum fit when n=5, implying either that their initial transitions are not critical or that habitability began around 6 Ga ago. The origin of life on Mars or elsewhere within the Solar System is excluded by the latter case and the simple anthropic argument is that extraterrestrial life is scarce in the Universe because it does not have time to evolve. Alternatively, the timescale can be extended if the migration of basic progenotic material to Earth is possible. If extra transitions are included in the model to allow for Earth migration, then the start of habitability needs to be even earlier than 6 Ga ago. Our present understanding of Galactic habitability and dynamics does not exclude this possibility. We conclude that Galactic punctuated equilibrium, proposed as a way round the anthropic problem, is not the only way of making life more common in the Galaxy.