Conditions for magnetic activity to catalyze prebiotic chemistry and target selection for biosignatures

Identify the stellar and environmental conditions under which stellar magnetic activity transitions from causing atmospheric destruction to acting as a chemical catalyst for prebiotic molecule formation, and determine which stars are the most promising targets for biosignature searches.

Background

The net impact of magnetic activity on habitability is uncertain: flares can be hazardous by driving atmospheric loss and surface irradiation, or beneficial by inducing prebiotic chemistry under specific conditions.

Population-level spectroscopic surveys are needed to map activity regimes across host stars and connect flare properties and chromospheric states to chemical outcomes, enabling informed biosignature target selection.

References

Here are the major open questions that the next big telescope developed by ESO will address through conducting a decadal spectroscopic survey of young, active exoplanet hosts: Under what conditions does stellar magnetic activity transition from atmospheric destroyer to chemical catalyst for prebiotic molecules, and which stars represent the most promising targets for biosignature searches?

— Transients as Determinants of Habitability  (2512.12456 - Majidi et al., 13 Dec 2025) in Section 3 (Key Questions)