Title: Uncovering the Cosmic Threat: Exploring the Impact of Cosmic Rays on Exoplanetary Habitability

Exoplanets are as diverse as they are fascinating. They vary from ultrahot Jupiter-like low-density planets to presumed gas-ice-rock mixture worlds that feature twice the Earth's bulk density. But much remains to be explored regarding the great diversity of exoplanetary atmospheres. With the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observing the first potential Earth-like exoplanetary atmospheres, we are now on the verge of entering a new era of exoplanetary science in which potential atmospheric biosignatures (such as ozone, nitrous oxide, and methane) are interpreted with increasing sophistication in terms of the evolution of the planet-star system, to assess and discount so-called false positives. However, to interpret the upcoming observations, model studies of planetary atmospheres that account for various processes — like an atmospheric escape, outgassing, climate, photochemistry, the physics of air showers, and the transport of cosmic rays through astrosphers, planetary magnetic fields, and planetary atmospheres — are necessary. Here, as an introduction to the field, the impact of cosmic rays (CRs) on the atmospheric ionization and radiation exposure of the solar system planets Earth, Mars, and Venus will be discussed. Further, utilizing the unique model suite INCREASE, the potential impact of cosmic rays on atmospheric biosignatures of exoplanets and its consequences for observations with, e.g, JWST is being discussed.

• Date:
  April 6, 2023, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
  
  
• Contact:
  Julián Alvarado-Gómez