Catalogue of tidally locked rocky exoplanets

The long-term carbon cycle plays an important role in regulating planetary temperature, thus aiding the conditions for the preservation of surface liquid water and,consequently, the habitability of exoplanets. On Earth, plate tectonics play an integral role in driving the long-term carbon cycle; however, on tidally locked rocky exoplanets alternative tectonic mechanisms driven by tidal stress and tidal heating could serve in an analogous way.

We calculate tidal stress and tidal heating rates to model the likelihood of tectonic activity maintaining stable climates suitable for surface liquid water on tidally locked rocky exoplanets with radii Rp<=1.23R_{Earth}_. Applying the tidal models to our sample of 767 tidally locked rocky exoplanets reveals that ~10% of exoplanets, including Proxima Cen b and GJ 1061 d from the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), pass the tidal stress subduction threshold for mobile lid tectonic activity and reside within the optimal tidal heating zone.