Bremen 2017 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 5: Postersitzung I

EP 5.10: Poster

Tuesday, March 14, 2017, 16:30–18:00, GW2 2.OG

The role of energetic particles in an exoplanetary atmosphere - a GEANT 4 based simulation tool — •Sasa Banjac, Konstantin Herbst, and Bernd Heber — Christian-Albrechts-Universität, 24118 Kiel, Germany

In the near future it can be expected to detect more rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of M- and K-dwarf stars The harsh stellar radiation environment and a possible tidal locking of these planets could outweigh the observational advantages by destroying biosignatures such as ozone (O3) (''false negative'') or by producing biosignatures abiotically (''false positiv'') and by affecting the habitability, e.g. in the form of an enhanced UV exposure, but also an enhanced flux of energetic particles (measured in the form of the dose rate) on the (exo-)planetary surface. In order to determine the radiation environment in a exoplanetary atmosphere we developed a tool based on the GEANT 4 library package that allows to calculate not only the ion-pair production but also the radiation dose on the surface of an exoplanet. The development aims for high flexibility in the specification of not only atmospheric and soil composition, but also of the radiation environment. Therefore, it will be applicable to the Solar system. In this contribution the setup and first results are presented.