Photosynthesis on habitable planets around low-mass stars. (arXiv:1901.01270v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lingam_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Manasvi Lingam</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Loeb_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Abraham Loeb</a>
We show that planets around M-dwarfs with $M_star lesssim 0.2 M_odot$ may
not receive enough photons in the photosynthetically active range of
$400$-$750$ nm to sustain Earth-like biospheres. As a result of the lower
biological productivity, it is likely that biotic molecular oxygen will not
build up to detectable levels in the atmospheres of habitable planets orbiting
low-mass stars.
We show that planets around M-dwarfs with $M_star lesssim 0.2 M_odot$ may
not receive enough photons in the photosynthetically active range of
$400$-$750$ nm to sustain Earth-like biospheres. As a result of the lower
biological productivity, it is likely that biotic molecular oxygen will not
build up to detectable levels in the atmospheres of habitable planets orbiting
low-mass stars.
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