Definition
A galactic habitable zone is the putative region inside a galaxy with physical conditions compatible with the origin, development, and long-term existence of life-as-we-know-it. Minimum requirements are the existence of enough heavy chemical elements to form Earth-like planets and a low occurrence of catastrophic events (e.g., supernovae, close stellar encounters) in order to allow the evolution of complex life forms.
Overview
The idea underlying the concept of galactichabitable zone (GHZ) is that various physical processes, which may favor the development or the destruction of life, may depend strongly on the temporal and spatial position in a galaxy. For instance, the risk of cosmic explosions (e.g., supernovae, gamma-ray bursts) sufficiently close to represent a threat for life is in general larger in the inner galaxy than in the outer one and so is the metallicity (for astronomers, the abundance of elements heavier than helium) of the interstellar medium, which may be...
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References and Further Reading
Carigi L, García-Rojas J, Meneses-Goytia S (2013) Chemical evolution and the galactic habitable zone of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Rev Mex Astron Astrofis 49:253–273
Forgan D et al (2017) Evaluating galactic habitability using high-resolution cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. Int J Astrobiol 16:60–73
Lineweaver CH, Fenner Y, Gibson BK (2004) The Galactic Habitable Zone and the age distribution complex life in the Milky Way. Science 303:59–62
Prantzos N (2011) The concept of “galactic habitable zone”. In: Gargaud M, Lopez-García P, Martín H (eds) Origins and evolution of life: an astrobiological perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 154–166
Stojković et al (2019) Galactic habitability re-examined: indications of bimodality. MNRAS 490:408–416
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Prantzos, N., Carigi, L. (2023). Galactic Habitable Zone. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_615
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