Habitability of Kepler circumbinary planets

Kepler 16: A System of Potential Interest to Astrobiologists

Investigating things like seasons caused by the orbit of the inner binary...

On the Habitable Zones of Circumbinary Planetary Systems
http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.2812

Habitable zones of Kepler-16, 34, 35 and 47. Kepler-16 and Kepler-47 are highly unequal binaries while Kepler-34 and Kepler-35 are more equal which leads to a more complex situation.

Kepler-16(AB)b appears to move inside and outside the HZ boundary because the HZ is offset from the system's centre of mass.

Rotational Synchronization May Enhance Habitability for Circumbinary Planets: Kepler Binary Case Studies
http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.4624

For solar type stars, the binary system can slow the stellar rotation down and result in reduced XUV flux in the circumbinary habitable zone. On the other hand, a system of lower mass stars like Kepler-16 will experience much stronger levels of XUV in the HZ.

Forgan: "Assessing Circumbinary Habitable Zones using Latitudinal Energy Balance Modelling"
http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.3611

From the abstract...

Quote :

We present orbital HZs for several known circumbinary planetary systems: Kepler-16, Kepler-34, Kepler-35, Kepler-47 and PH-1. Generally, the orbital HZs at zero eccentricity are consistent with spatial HZs derived by other authors, although we detect some signatures of variability that coincide with resonances between the binary and planet orbital periods. We confirm that Earthlike planets around Kepler-47 with Kepler-47c's orbital parameters could possess liquid water, despite current uncertainties regarding its eccentricity. Kepler-16b is found to be outside the habitable zone, as well as the other circumbinary planets investigated.