A New Definition of Exoplanet Habitability: Introducing the Photosynthetic Habitable Zone

Abstract

It may be possible to detect biosignatures of photosynthesis in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. However, such a detection would likely require a dedicated study, occupying a large amount of telescope time. It is therefore prudent, while searching for signs of life that we may recognize, to pick the best target possible. In this work, we present a new region, the photosynthetic habitable zone (PHZ)—the distance from a star where both liquid water and oxygenic photosynthesis can occur. It is therefore the region where detectable biosignatures of oxygenic photosynthesis are most likely to occur. Our analysis indicates that in the most ideal conditions for life and no atmospheric effects, the PHZ is almost as broad as the habitable zone. On the other hand, if conditions for life are anything less than excellent and atmospheric effects are even moderate, the PHZ is concentrated at larger separations around more massive stars. Such cases are also not tidally locked to their host star, which could result in planetary rotation periods similar to the Earth’s. We identify five planets, Kepler-452 b, Kepler-1638 b, Kepler-1544 b, Kepler-62 e, and Kepler-62 f, that are consistently in the PHZ for a variety of conditions, and we predict their day lengths to be between 9 and 11 hr. We conclude that the parameter space in which we should search for signs of life is much narrower than the standard habitable zone.

Keywords

• Astrobiology
• Exoplanets