The Influence of Cosmic Rays on Exoplanetary Atmospheric Biosignatures

该提案将把大气科学的建模专业知识与天体粒子物理学结合起来，对太阳系以外的潜在大气生物特征做出迄今最好的预测。在其宿主恒星的宜居带中已经发现了行星，但主要围绕较冷的恒星运行，这些恒星是受欢迎的观测目标。然而，这些行星的大气层很可能受到高能粒子和光子的影响，因此生物特征及其可探测性不得不受到质疑。为了始终如一地解决这个问题，我们将通过行星外磁层追踪银河系或恒星宇宙射线的高能粒子，并将描述大气中物理相互作用的模型与描述大气生物特征的一维大气化学-气候模型结合起来。我们将在气候变量、化学成分和宇宙射线与大气之间的空气簇射相互作用之间进行一致的迭代，以预测对臭氧等关键生物特征的影响。我们将计算理论光谱，以提供与JWST和E-ELT等下一代计划空间任务的联系。

The proposal will combine modeling expertise from atmospheric science with astroparticle physics to create the hitherto best predictions of potential atmospheric biosignatures outside the solar system. Planets in the habitable zones of their host stars are already being found, but mainly orbiting cooler stars, which are favored observational targets. However, the atmospheres of such planets are likely to be influenced by energetic particles and photons, so that biosignatures and their detectability have to be put into question. To address this issue consistently, we will trace energetic particles of Galactic or stellar cosmic rays through the exoplanetary magnetosphere and combine models describing the physical interactions in the atmosphere with 1D atmospheric chemistry-climate models, which then describe the effects on atmospheric biosignatures. We will perform a consistent iteration between climate variables, chemical constituents and air shower interactions between cosmic rays and the atmosphere, in order to predict the effect on key biosignatures such as ozone. We will calculate theoretical spectra to provide a link with next generation planned space missions such as the JWST and the E-ELT.