Mars and the early Sun

Abstract

Global mean temperatures near 273 K on early Mars are difficult to explain in the context of standards solar evolution models. Even assuming maximum CO2 greenhouse warming, the required flux is approximately 15 percent too low. Here we consider two astrophysical models that could increase the flux by this amount. The first model is a nonstandard solar model in which the early Sun had a mass somewhat greater than today's mass (1.02-1.06 solar mass). The second model is based on a standard evolutionary solar model, but the ecliptic flux is increased due to focusing by an (expected) heavily spotted early Sun.