A Gaian habitable zone

When searching for inhabited exoplanets, understanding the boundaries of the habitable zone around the parent star is the key. If life can strongly influence its global environment, then we would expect the boundaries of the habitable zone to be influenced by the presence of life. Here, using a simple abstract model of 'tangled-ecology' where life can influence a global parameter, labelled as temperature, we investigate the boundaries of the habitable zone of our model system. As with other models of life-climate interactions, the species act to regulate the temperature. However, the system can also experience 'punctuations', where the system's state jumps between different equilibria. Despite this, an ensemble of systems still tends to sustain or even improve conditions for life on average, a feature we call Entropic Gaia. The mechanism behind this is sequential selection with memory which is discussed in detail. With this modelling framework we investigate questions about how Gaia can affect and ultimately extend the habitable zone to what we call the Gaian habitable zone. This generates concrete predictions for the size of the habitable zone around stars, suggests directions for future work on the simulation of exoplanets and provides insight into the Gaian bottleneck hypothesis and the habitability/inhabitance paradox.

Automated summary

When searching for inhabited exoplanets, understanding the boundaries of the habitable zone is crucial. The presence of life can influence these boundaries, as shown in a model that investigates the impact of life on temperature regulation. Despite the possibility of punctuations, where the system's equilibria can shift, the ensemble of systems tends to sustain or improve conditions for life, known as Entropic Gaia. This model also explores the concept of a Gaian habitable zone and provides insights into the Gaian bottleneck hypothesis and the habitability/inhabitance paradox.