PHL @ AbSciCon 2024
Presentations
This is a list of presentations at AbSciCon 2024 by or in collaboration with the PHL (sorted by presentation day). Contact abel.mendez@upr.edu for more information.
Abel Méndez1, Carlos Ortiz Quintana1,2, and Ivaris Martínez Serrano1,2
1PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, 2University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez
Monday, May 6, 2024. 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM. Poster Hall C-D (3rd Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
The habitable zone has long been a cornerstone in the search for extraterrestrial life, serving as a standard for identifying potentially habitable worlds. New telescopes, such as the JWST and the future Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), would start the study of the atmosphere and then the surfaces of nearby exoplanets. This study proposes a planetary habitability model that extends beyond the traditional habitable zone concept, incorporating mean global surface temperature and ocean-land fraction as key factors. The model was used to identify those exoplanets in the Habitable Worlds Catalog (HWC) with the potential to support a large global biosphere.
Poster #013: This study presents an example of habitat suitability models applied to exoplanets. For more information about our work and applications to other targets visit our Planet-Hab Collaboration webpage.
Shannon MacKenzie1, Alexandra Pontefract1, R. Terik Daly1, Jacob Buffo2, Ben K. D. Pearce3, Sarah M Horst4, Christopher J. Cline5, Gordon Osinski6, Mark J Cintala7, Abel Méndez8, Steve Vance9, Kathleen L Craft1, Joshua Hedgepeth2
1Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 2Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus, 3McMaster University, 4Johns Hopkins University, 5NASA Johnson Space Center, 6University of Western Ontario, 7NASA Johnson Space Center, 8PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, 9Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Tuesday, May 7, 2024. 3:30 PM - 3:45 PM. Rotunda (5th Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
Evidence for the beneficial role of impacts in the creation of urable (supporting the emergence of life) or habitable (sustaining existing life) environments on Earth prompts the question whether meteorite impacts could play a similar role at other potentially urable/habitable worlds like Enceladus, Europa, and Titan. We demonstrate that to first order, impacts have likely occurred on these worlds creating pressures consistent with the survival of organic compounds and/or sufficient for promoting synthesis in impact melt. We also calculate melt production and freezing times for crater sizes found at Enceladus, Europa, and Titan and find that even the smallest craters at these worlds offer the potential for studying the evolution of chemical pathways within impact melt. These first-order calculations point to a critical need to investigate these processes at higher fidelity with lab experiments, sophisticated thermodynamic and chemical modeling, and, eventually, in situ investigations by missions. Furthermore, investigations into the likelihood/presence of urable states also opens the possibility of diverse and transient habitable environments on these moons where each impact was a different 'laboratory' for the evolution of life.
Carlos Ortiz Quintana1,2, Ivaris Martínez Serrano1,2, and Abel Méndez2
1University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, 2PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo
Wednesday, May 8, 2024. 4:15 PM - 4:30 PM. Ballroom B/C (5th Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
The surface temperature of a planet determines its potential habitability and is one of the most important parameters in its characterization. These temperatures are commonly approximated using computationally expensive climate models or models that consider the equilibrium between the star's incoming radiation and the planet's outgoing radiation. This project focuses on the latter. We are studying solutions to an Energy Balance Model that considers how the heat moves across the planet and the heat it can sustain. We are mainly interested to see if we can develop a mathematical expression that could tell us the local surface temperature of a planet by just knowing its latitude and basic stellar/planetary properties. This could tell us if a planet is habitable at certain locations. We propose new solutions to these models by applying and studying the mathematical theory of local changes with multiple quantities and approximation techniques. We want to apply the model to case studies of Mars, the Moon, and Earth, as well as some simulated cases of exoplanets with similar conditions.
Ivaris Martínez Serrano1,2, Carlos Ortiz Quintana1,2, and Abel Méndez2
1University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, 2PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo
Wednesday, May 8, 2024. 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM. Poster Hall C-D (3rd Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
ROCKE-3D is a general circulation model (GCM) that studies terrestrial and extraterrestrial climates. In our study of planetary habitability, we will use ROCKE-3D to replicate atmospheric and surface temperatures across a spectrum of distant worlds. Our research adopts a multifaceted approach, encompassing exoplanet habitability assessment and model validation by comparing observed data and other models. We are motivated by the need to comprehend the correlation between surface temperature and the habitability of exoplanets.
Edgard G Rivera-Valentín1, Abel Mendez2, Alejandro Soto3, and Kennda Lynch4
1Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 2PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, 3Southwest Research Institute, 4Lunar and Planetary Institute
Thursday, May 9, 2024. 2:20 PM - 2:30 PM. Ballroom B/C (5th Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
We leverage ecological models from Earth to investigate the potential for surface and subsurface Martian environments to support terrestrial-like life. Our study can help inform landing site selection for a future life explorer mission to Mars, and can help inform planetary protection considerations for such missions.
Vanelie Olivieri Encarnación1,3, Alexander O. Molina Ortiz2,3, Abel Méndez3, and Anish Rosi4
1University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, 2Ana G. Méndez University, 3PHL @ University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, 4University of Central Florida
Thursday, May 9, 2024. 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM. Poster Hall C-D (3rd Floor, RI Conv Ctr)
The radio emissions from red dwarf stars, such as Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1, are particularly interesting due to their potential to host habitable planets. These stars produce intense stellar flares and coronal mass ejections with high UV and X-ray fluxes visible in the radio spectrum. In this study, we investigated the activity of the red dwarf star Luyten's Star and its implications for the potential stability of exoplanetary biospheres. By analyzing data obtained from the 305m telescope and the 12m telescope at the Arecibo Observatory, we show that Luyten's Star exhibits low activity levels, indicating a more favorable environment for habitable planets.