The habitable zone for Earthlike exomoons orbiting Kepler-1625b

TL;DR

This paper calculates the habitable zones for Earthlike exomoons around Kepler-1625b, suggesting potential past habitability and the possibility of habitable moon-moons during the star's main sequence phase.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of habitable zones for exomoons orbiting Kepler-1625b, considering various orbital and atmospheric conditions.

Findings

Kepler-1625b-i is outside the habitable zone but may have been habitable in the past.

Potential for habitable moon-moons exists during the star's main sequence phase.

Habitable conditions depend on atmospheric CO2 regulation and orbital stability.

Abstract

The recent announcement of a Neptune-sized exomoon candidate orbiting the Jupiter-sized object Kepler-1625b has forced us to rethink our assumptions regarding both exomoons and their host exoplanets. In this paper I describe calculations of the habitable zone for Earthlike exomoons in orbit of Kepler-1625b under a variety of assumptions. I find that the candidate exomoon, Kepler-1625b-i, does not currently reside within the exomoon habitable zone, but may have done so when Kepler-1625 occupied the main sequence. If it were to possess its own moon (a "moon-moon") that was Earthlike, this could potentially have been a habitable world. If other exomoons orbit Kepler-1625b, then there are a range of possible semimajor axes/eccentricities that would permit a habitable surface during the main sequence phase, while remaining dynamically stable under the perturbations of Kepler-1625b-i. This is however contingent on effective atmospheric CO$_2$ regulation.