The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge
We present a new investigation of the habitability of the Milky Way bulge, that expands previous studies on the Galactic Habitable Zone. We discuss existing knowledge on the abundance of planets in the bulge, metallicity and the possible frequency of rocky planets, orbital stability and encounters,...
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doaj-ed5b115c926b4de39e9e6c10f08bfd7b2020-11-25T01:27:02ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292020-08-011013213210.3390/life10080132The Habitability of the Galactic BulgeAmedeo Balbi0Maryam Hami1Andjelka Kovačević2Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaWe present a new investigation of the habitability of the Milky Way bulge, that expands previous studies on the Galactic Habitable Zone. We discuss existing knowledge on the abundance of planets in the bulge, metallicity and the possible frequency of rocky planets, orbital stability and encounters, and the possibility of planets around the central supermassive black hole. We focus on two aspects that can present substantial differences with respect to the environment in the disk: (i) the ionizing radiation environment, due to the presence of the central black hole and to the highest rate of supernovae explosions and (ii) the efficiency of putative lithopanspermia mechanism for the diffusion of life between stellar systems. We use analytical models of the star density in the bulge to provide estimates of the rate of catastrophic events and of the diffusion timescales for life over interstellar distances.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/8/132astrobiologyhabitabilityexoplanetsGalactic Habitable ZoneMilky Way bulge |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Amedeo Balbi Maryam Hami Andjelka Kovačević |
spellingShingle |
Amedeo Balbi Maryam Hami Andjelka Kovačević The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge Life astrobiology habitability exoplanets Galactic Habitable Zone Milky Way bulge |
author_facet |
Amedeo Balbi Maryam Hami Andjelka Kovačević |
author_sort |
Amedeo Balbi |
title |
The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge |
title_short |
The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge |
title_full |
The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge |
title_fullStr |
The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Habitability of the Galactic Bulge |
title_sort |
habitability of the galactic bulge |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Life |
issn |
2075-1729 |
publishDate |
2020-08-01 |
description |
We present a new investigation of the habitability of the Milky Way bulge, that expands previous studies on the Galactic Habitable Zone. We discuss existing knowledge on the abundance of planets in the bulge, metallicity and the possible frequency of rocky planets, orbital stability and encounters, and the possibility of planets around the central supermassive black hole. We focus on two aspects that can present substantial differences with respect to the environment in the disk: (i) the ionizing radiation environment, due to the presence of the central black hole and to the highest rate of supernovae explosions and (ii) the efficiency of putative lithopanspermia mechanism for the diffusion of life between stellar systems. We use analytical models of the star density in the bulge to provide estimates of the rate of catastrophic events and of the diffusion timescales for life over interstellar distances. |
topic |
astrobiology habitability exoplanets Galactic Habitable Zone Milky Way bulge |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/8/132 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT amedeobalbi thehabitabilityofthegalacticbulge AT maryamhami thehabitabilityofthegalacticbulge AT andjelkakovacevic thehabitabilityofthegalacticbulge AT amedeobalbi habitabilityofthegalacticbulge AT maryamhami habitabilityofthegalacticbulge AT andjelkakovacevic habitabilityofthegalacticbulge |
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