Fast Litho-panspermia in the Habitable Zone of the TRAPPIST-1 System
Abstract
With several short-period, Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone (HZ), the TRAPPIST-1 system potentially allows litho-panspermia to take place on very short timescales. We investigate the efficiency and speed of inter-planetary material transfer resulting from impacts onto the HZ planets. By simulating trajectories of impact ejecta from their moment of ejection until (re-)accretion, we find that transport between the HZ planets is fastest for ejection velocities around and just above planetary escape velocity. At these ejection velocities, ∼10% of the ejected material reaches another HZ planet within 102 years, indicating litho-panspermia can be 4-5 orders of magnitude faster in TRAPPIST-1 than in the solar system.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2017
- DOI:
- 10.3847/2041-8213/aa6b9f
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1704.01411
- Bibcode:
- 2017ApJ...839L..21K
- Keywords:
-
- astrobiology;
- meteorites;
- meteors;
- meteoroids;
- methods: numerical;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted for publication in ApJL