The Habitable Epoch of the Early Universe
Abraham Loeb (Harvard)
(Submitted on 2 Dec 2013 (v1), last revised 3 Jun 2014 (this version, v3))
Mere illustration/Mera ilustração
(Submitted on 2 Dec 2013 (v1), last revised 3 Jun 2014
(this version, v3))
Abstract
In the redshift range 100≲(1+z)≲137, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) had a temperature of 273–373 K (0–100°C), allowing early rocky planets (if any existed) to have liquid water chemistry on their surface and be habitable, irrespective of their distance from a star. In the standard ΛCDM cosmology, the first star-forming halos within our Hubble volume started collapsing at these redshifts, allowing the chemistry of life to possibly begin when the Universe was merely 10–17 million years old. The possibility of life starting when the average matter density was a million times bigger than it is today is not in agreement with the anthropic explanation for the low value of the cosmological constant.
In the redshift range 100≲(1+z)≲137, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) had a temperature of 273–373 K (0–100°C), allowing early rocky planets (if any existed) to have liquid water chemistry on their surface and be habitable, irrespective of their distance from a star. In the standard ΛCDM cosmology, the first star-forming halos within our Hubble volume started collapsing at these redshifts, allowing the chemistry of life to possibly begin when the Universe was merely 10–17 million years old. The possibility of life starting when the average matter density was a million times bigger than it is today is not in agreement with the anthropic explanation for the low value of the cosmological constant.
Comments: 12 pages, accepted for publication in the International Journal of Astrobiology
Subjects: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph); High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
Cite as: arXiv:1312.0613 [astro-ph.CO]
(or arXiv:1312.0613v3 [astro-ph.CO] for this version)
Submission history
From: Avi Loeb [view email]
[v1] Mon, 2 Dec 2013 21:00:18 GMT (6kb)
[v2] Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:19:05 GMT (8kb)
[v3] Tue, 3 Jun 2014 20:56:38 GMT (8kb)
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