Oxygen may not be as definitive a sign of the presence of extraterrestrial life, as astrobiologists had previously believed, according to a new study.
Researchers conducting laboratory experiments with various types of simulated exoplanet atmospheres, were able to synthesize oxygen and carbon-containing organic molecules in them, which are the building blocks of life in the forms in which we know it.
Scientists are accustomed to consider the joint detection of oxygen and” organic matter “as a convincing sign of life, but in the course of physical modeling we were able to repeatedly generate such mixtures abiotic way.
This means that even the joint detection of oxygen and organic compounds cannot clearly indicate the presence of life on the planet.-Chao He, the main author of a new study from the Department of Earth and Planet Science Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, USA
In his work, Xe and his colleagues compiled 9 different gas mixtures that mimic the atmosphere of exoplanets of the classes of super-earthl and mini-Neptunes. The researchers subjected these various gas mixtures — consisting of components such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ammonia — to temperatures ranging from 27 to 300 degrees Celsius when irradiated with ultraviolet light or plasma.
After three days, the team determined the composition of each of the mixtures using gas chromatography using a mass spectrometer and found out that some of the mixtures contained oxygen and organic compounds, such as formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
Molecular oxygen rich exoplanets can be lifeless
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