TY - JOUR

T1 - Habitable worlds of merging stars

AU - Shevchenko, Ivan I.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/12

Y1 - 2020/12

N2 - It is shown that W UMa-type and SX Phe-type stellar populations are both perfectly and uniquely suited for maintaining hyper-effective biopolymer chain reactions (BCR) on their planets once the planet is in the stellar habitable zone. W UMa-type stars are known to be contact binaries, and SX Phe-type stars are presumably post-binaries, i.e., products of stellar mergers. In case of the contact binaries, the eclipse-driven periodic heating/cooling of planetary surfaces has period-amplitude parameters that perfectly satisfy stringent conditions for maintaining BCR-like reactions. In case of the post-binaries, the stars pulsate with periods and amplitudes also perfectly suited for maintaining the reactions. Therefore, the 'W UMa - SX Phe' metamorphosis (from a contact binary to a post-binary, via the merger) seems to provide a potential biosystem reboot on planets in these systems.

AB - It is shown that W UMa-type and SX Phe-type stellar populations are both perfectly and uniquely suited for maintaining hyper-effective biopolymer chain reactions (BCR) on their planets once the planet is in the stellar habitable zone. W UMa-type stars are known to be contact binaries, and SX Phe-type stars are presumably post-binaries, i.e., products of stellar mergers. In case of the contact binaries, the eclipse-driven periodic heating/cooling of planetary surfaces has period-amplitude parameters that perfectly satisfy stringent conditions for maintaining BCR-like reactions. In case of the post-binaries, the stars pulsate with periods and amplitudes also perfectly suited for maintaining the reactions. Therefore, the 'W UMa - SX Phe' metamorphosis (from a contact binary to a post-binary, via the merger) seems to provide a potential biosystem reboot on planets in these systems.

KW - Circumbinary planets

KW - contact-binary stars

KW - polymerase chain reaction

KW - SX Phe-type stars

KW - tidal chain reaction

KW - W UMa-type stars

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092786589&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/44b423ba-268d-36f7-b615-c4a58c523f99/

U2 - 10.1017/S1473550420000282

DO - 10.1017/S1473550420000282

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85092786589

VL - 19

SP - 500

EP - 504

JO - International Journal of Astrobiology

JF - International Journal of Astrobiology

SN - 1473-5504

IS - 6

ER -