Fitting Formulas for Determining the Existence of S-type and P-type Habitable Zones in Binary Systems: First Results

TL;DR

This paper develops fitting formulas to quickly determine the presence of S-type and P-type habitable zones in binary star systems, based on orbital stability and climate models, aiding future exoplanet habitability assessments.

Contribution

It introduces new fitting formulas for identifying habitable zones in binary systems, integrating orbital stability and climate constraints, based on updated planetary climate models.

Findings

Fitting equations for habitable zones are provided for specific binary system cases.

The formulas enable rapid assessment of habitability in binary star configurations.

Updated climate model data improve the accuracy of habitable zone predictions.

Abstract

We present initial work about attaining fitting formulas for the quick determination of the existence of S-type and P-type habitable zones in binary systems. Following previous work, we calculate the limits of the climatological habitable zone in binary systems (which sensitively depend on the system parameters) based on a joint constraint encompassing planetary orbital stability and a habitable region for a possible system planet. We also consider updated results on planetary climate models previously obtained by Kopparapu and collaborators. Fitting equations based on our work are presented for selected cases.