A Study of Potential Earth-like Planets in the GJ 876 Planetary System

We perform numerical simulations to investigate potential Earth-like planets in the GJ 876 planetary system. We show that the secular resonances ν1 and ν2 (resulting respectively from the inner and outer giant planets) can excite the eccentricities of Earth-like planets with orbits 0.21 AU ≤ a < 0.50 AU and cause them to be ejected out of the system in a short time. However, in the dynamical sense, Earth-like planets potentially exist in the region 0.50 AU ≤ a ≤ 1.00 AU, in stable low-eccentricity orbits which may last up to 105 yr.