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| Paper: |
Probing the Origin of Water in Planets within Habitable Zones with HWO |
| Monograph: |
10, HWO25 Proceedings Part I: Community Science Case Development Documents |
| Page: |
425 |
| Authors: |
Yasuhiro Hasegawa; Courtney Dressing; Ludmila Carone |
| DOI: |
10.26624/QOTS7240 |
| Abstract: |
How do habitable environments arise and evolve within the context of their planetary systems? This is
one fundamental question, and it can be addressed partly by identifying how planets in habitable zones obtain
water. Historically, astronomers considered that water was delivered to the Earth via dynamical shake-up by
Jupiter, which took place during the formation and post-formation eras (e.g., ≲ 100 Myr). This hypothesis
has recently been challenged by a more dynamic view of planet formation; planet-forming materials move in
protoplanetary disks via various physical processes such as pebble drift and planetary migration. Habitable
Worlds Observatory (HWO) will open a new window to address this important, but difficult question by
discovering and characterizing Earth-like exoplanets around G-type stars. In this article, we consider two
possible working hypotheses: (1) the abundance of water on planets in habitable zones has any correlation
with the presence of outer planets; and (2) the abundance of water on planets in habitable zones has no
correlation with the presence of outer planets. We discuss what physical parameters need to be measured
to differentiate these two hypotheses and what observational capabilities are desired for HWO to reliably
constrain these physical parameters. |
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