On the history and future of cosmic planet formation

Peter Behroozi; Molly S. Peeples

doi:10.1093/mnras/stv1817

On the history and future of cosmic planet formation

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

↵★E-mail: behroozi{at}stsci.edu (PB); molly{at}stsci.edu (MSP)

Accepted 2015 August 4.
Received 2015 June 25.
In original form 2015 April 1.
First published online October 20, 2015.

Abstract

We combine constraints on galaxy formation histories with planet formation models, yielding the Earth-like and giant planet formation histories of the Milky Way and the Universe as a whole. In the Hubble volume (10¹³ Mpc³), we expect there to be ∼10²⁰ Earth-like and ∼10²⁰ giant planets; our own galaxy is expected to host ∼10⁹ and ∼10¹⁰ Earth-like and giant planets, respectively. Proposed metallicity thresholds for planet formation do not significantly affect these numbers. However, the metallicity dependence for giant planets results in later typical formation times and larger host galaxies than for Earth-like planets. The Solar system formed at the median age for existing giant planets in the Milky Way, and consistent with past estimates, formed after 80 per cent of Earth-like planets. However, if existing gas within virialized dark matter haloes continues to collapse and form stars and planets, the Universe will form over 10 times more planets than currently exist. We show that this would imply at least a 92 per cent chance that we are not the only civilization the Universe will ever have, independent of arguments involving the Drake equation.