Search for signatures of life on exoplanets

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

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Exoplanets: Life

Scientific paper

The spectroscopic characterization of Earth-like exoplanets is one of the goals shared by two major projects: Darwin (ESA) and TPF-Terrestrial Planet Finder (NASA). By producing low resolution spectra of the planetary thermal emission, they will be able to detect the 9.6 μm band of O3 which may be the signature of an O2-rich atmosphere sustained by a biological activity. In this paper, we review several studies focusing on the possible use of this ozone signature as a biomarker for terrestrial exoplanets. First, we stress the risk of false positive detection produced by abiotic photochemical production of O2 and O3 and we show how to filter these imposters out by selecting only the simultaneous detection of O3-CO2-H2O (triple signature). In a second part, we investigate the false negative cases: when O2-rich atmospheres do not exhibit the O3 feature. This happens when the partial pressure of CO2 is too high or, unexpectedly, when the O3 layer is too dense. Finally, we present other eventual biomarkers that could trace life where O3 fails.

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