scholarly journals Atmospheric Circulation of Hot Jupiters

2004 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 261-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Guillot

About 40% of the extrasolar giant planets discovered so far have orbital distances smaller than 0.2 AU. These “hot Jupiters” are expected to be in synchronous rotation with their star. The ability to measure their radii prompts a careful reexamination of their structure. I show that their atmospheric structure is complex and that thermal balance cannot be achieved through radiation only but must involve heat advection by large-scale circulation. A circulation model inspired from Venus is proposed, involving a relatively strong zonal wind (with a period that can be as short as 1 day). It is shown that even this strong wind is incapable of efficiently redistributing heat from the day side to the night side. Temperature variations of 200 K or more are to be expected, even at pressures as large as 10 bar. As a consequence, clouds should be absent on the day side, allowing more efficient absorption of the stellar light. The global chemical composition of the atmosphere should also be greatly affected by the presence of large temperature variations. Finally, stellar tides may also be important in their ability to deposit heat at levels untouched by stellar radiation, thereby slowing further the cooling of the planets.

2020 ◽  
Vol 216 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam P. Showman ◽  
Xianyu Tan ◽  
Vivien Parmentier

AbstractGroundbased and spacecraft telescopic observations, combined with an intensive modeling effort, have greatly enhanced our understanding of hot giant planets and brown dwarfs over the past ten years. Although these objects are all fluid, hydrogen worlds with stratified atmospheres overlying convective interiors, they exhibit an impressive diversity of atmospheric behavior. Hot Jupiters are strongly irradiated, and a wealth of observations constrain the day-night temperature differences, circulation, and cloudiness. The intense stellar irradiation, presumed tidal locking and modest rotation leads to a novel regime of strong day-night radiative forcing. Circulation models predict large day-night temperature differences, global-scale eddies, patchy clouds, and, in most cases, a fast eastward jet at the equator—equatorial superrotation. The warm Jupiters lie farther from their stars and are not generally tidally locked, so they may exhibit a wide range of rotation rates, obliquities, and orbital eccentricities, which, along with the weaker irradiation, leads to circulation patterns and observable signatures predicted to differ substantially from hot Jupiters. Brown dwarfs are typically isolated, rapidly rotating worlds; they radiate enormous energy fluxes into space and convect vigorously in their interiors. Their atmospheres exhibit patchiness in clouds and temperature on regional to global scales—the result of modulation by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Despite the lack of irradiation, such circulations can be driven by interaction of the interior convection with the overlying atmosphere, as well as self-organization of patchiness due to cloud-dynamical-radiative feedbacks. Finally, irradiated brown dwarfs help to bridge the gap between these classes of objects, experiencing intense external irradiation as well as vigorous interior convection. Collectively, these diverse objects span over six orders of magnitude in intrinsic heat flux and incident stellar flux, and two orders of magnitude in rotation rate—thereby placing strong constraints on how the circulation of giant planets (broadly defined) depend on these parameters. A hierarchy of modeling approaches have yielded major new insights into the dynamics governing these phenomena.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Samra ◽  
Christiane Helling ◽  
Michiel Min ◽  
Til Birnstiel

<p>Exoplanets provide excellent laboratories to explore novel atmospheric regimes; using observations coupled with microphysical models we can probe our understanding of the formation and evolution of planets beyond those in the Solar System. However, clouds remain a key challenge in observation of exoplanet atmospheres, both altering the local atmospheric composition and obscuring deeper atmospheric layers. Currently, most observed exoplanet atmospheres are tidally locked gas-giants in close orbit around their host star. These hot and ultra-hot Jupiters have day-side temperatures in excess of 2500 K, and still above 400 K on the night-side, thus they form solid clouds made of minerals, metal oxides and metals. These clouds may form snowflake like structures, either through condensation or by constructive collisions (coagulation).</p><p>We explore the effects of non-compact, non-spherical cloud particles in gas-giant exoplanet atmospheres by expanding our kinetic non-equilibrium cloud formation model, to include parameterised porous cloud particles as well as cloud particle growth and fragmentation through collisions. We apply this model to prescribed 1D temperature - pressure Drift-Phoenix atmospheric profiles, using Mie theory and effective medium theory to study cloud optical depths, representing the effects of the non-spherical cloud particles through a statistical distribution of hollow spheres.</p><p>Finally, we apply our cloud formation model to a sample of gas-giants as well as ultra-hot Jupiters, using 1D profiles extracted from the 3D SPARC/MITgcm general circulation model. In particular, we take the example cases of gas-giant WASP-43b and the ultra-hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b, where we find dramatic differences in the day-/night-side distribution of clouds between these types of exoplanets due to the intensity of stellar irradiation for HAT-P-7b. Further an asymmetry in cloud coverage at the terminators of ultra-hot Jupiters is observable in the optical depth of the clouds, which affects the observable atmospheric column and thus has implication for detection of key gas phase species. Clouds also enhance the gas phase C/O which is often used as an indicator of formation history. With next-generation instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) such details will begin to be examined, but we find that a detailed understanding of cloud formation processes will be required to interpret observations.</p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Paulo de Freitas Assad ◽  
Carina Stefoni Böck ◽  
Rogerio Neder Candella ◽  
Luiz Landau

The knowledge of wind stress variability could represent an important contribution to understand the variability over upper layer ocean volume transports. The South Brazilian Bight (SBB) circulation had been studied by numerous researchers who predominantly attempted to estimate its meridional volume transport. The main objective and contribution of this study is to identify and quantify possible interannual variability in the ocean volume transport in the SBB induced by the sea surface wind stress field. A low resolution ocean global circulation model was implemented to investigate the volume transport variability. The results obtained indicate the occurrence of interannual variability in meridional ocean volume transports along three different zonal sections. These results also indicate the influence of a wind driven large-scale atmospheric process that alters locally the SBB and near-offshore region wind stress field and consequently causes interannual variability in the upper layer ocean volume transports. A strengthening of the southward flow in 25°S and 30°S was observed. The deep layer ocean volume transport in the three monitored sections indicates a potential dominance of other remote ocean processes. A small time lag between the integrated meridional volume transports changes in each monitored zonal section was observed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ichiro Fukumori ◽  
Dimitris Menemenlis ◽  
Tong Lee

Abstract A new basin-wide oscillation of the Mediterranean Sea is identified and analyzed using sea level observations from the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon satellite altimeter and a numerical ocean circulation model. More than 50% of the large-scale, nontidal, and non-pressure-driven variance of sea level can be attributed to this oscillation, which is nearly uniform in phase and amplitude across the entire basin. The oscillation has periods ranging from 10 days to several years and has a magnitude as large as 10 cm. The model suggests that the fluctuations are driven by winds at the Strait of Gibraltar and its neighboring region, including the Alboran Sea and a part of the Atlantic Ocean immediately to the west of the strait. Winds in this region force a net mass flux through the Strait of Gibraltar to which the Mediterranean Sea adjusts almost uniformly across its entire basin with depth-independent pressure perturbations. The wind-driven response can be explained in part by wind setup; a near-stationary balance is established between the along-strait wind in this forcing region and the sea level difference between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The amplitude of this basin-wide wind-driven sea level fluctuation is inversely proportional to the setup region’s depth but is insensitive to its width including that of Gibraltar Strait. The wind-driven fluctuation is coherent with atmospheric pressure over the basin and contributes to the apparent deviation of the Mediterranean Sea from an inverse barometer response.


2009 ◽  
Vol 699 (1) ◽  
pp. 564-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam P. Showman ◽  
Jonathan J. Fortney ◽  
Yuan Lian ◽  
Mark S. Marley ◽  
Richard S. Freedman ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 1099-1116
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Lehmacher ◽  
Miguel F. Larsen ◽  
Richard L. Collins ◽  
Aroh Barjatya ◽  
Boris Strelnikov

Abstract. Four mesosphere–lower thermosphere temperature and turbulence profiles were obtained in situ within ∼30 min and over an area of about 100 by 100 km during a sounding rocket experiment conducted on 26 January 2015 at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. In this paper we examine the spatial and temporal variability of mesospheric turbulence in relationship to the static stability of the background atmosphere. Using active payload attitude control, neutral density fluctuations, a tracer for turbulence, were observed with very little interference from the payload spin motion, and with high precision (<0.01 %) at sub-meter resolution. The large-scale vertical temperature structure was very consistent between the four soundings. The mesosphere was almost isothermal, which means more stratified, between 60 and 80 km, and again between 88 and 95 km. The stratified regions adjoined quasi-adiabatic regions assumed to be well mixed. Additional evidence of vertical transport and convective activity comes from sodium densities and trimethyl aluminum trail development, respectively, which were both observed simultaneously with the in situ measurements. We found considerable kilometer-scale temperature variability with amplitudes of 20 K in the stratified region below 80 km. Several thin turbulent layers were embedded in this region, differing in width and altitude for each profile. Energy dissipation rates varied between 0.1 and 10 mW kg−1, which is typical for the winter mesosphere. Very little turbulence was observed above 82 km, consistent with very weak small-scale gravity wave activity in the upper mesosphere during the launch night. On the other hand, above the cold and prominent mesopause at 102 km, large temperature excursions of +40 to +70 K were observed. Simultaneous wind measurements revealed extreme wind shears near 108 km, and combined with the observed temperature gradient, isolated regions of unstable Richardson numbers (0<Ri<0.25) were detected in the lower thermosphere. The experiment was launched into a bright auroral arc under moderately disturbed conditions (Kp∼5).


Ocean Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cailleau ◽  
J. Chanut ◽  
J.-M. Lellouche ◽  
B. Levier ◽  
C. Maraldi ◽  
...  

Abstract. The regional ocean operational system remains a key element in downscaling from large scale (global or basin scale) systems to coastal ones. It enables the transition between systems in which the resolution and the resolved physics are quite different. Indeed, coastal applications need a system to predict local high frequency events (inferior to the day) such as storm surges, while deep sea applications need a system to predict large scale lower frequency ocean features. In the framework of the ECOOP project, a regional system for the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland area has been upgraded from an existing V0 version to a V2. This paper focuses on the improvements from the V1 system, for which the physics are close to a large scale basin system, to the V2 for which the physics are more adapted to shelf and coastal issues. Strong developments such as higher regional physics resolution in the NEMO Ocean General Circulation Model for tides, non linear free surface and adapted vertical mixing schemes among others have been implemented in the V2 version. Thus, regional thermal fronts due to tidal mixing now appear in the latest version solution and are quite well positioned. Moreover, simulation of the stratification in shelf areas is also improved in the V2.


Author(s):  
Mitsuhiro Suzuki ◽  
Takeshi Takeda ◽  
Hideo Nakamura

Presented are experiment results of the Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF) conducted at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) with a focus on core exit thermocouple (CET) performance to detect core overheat during a vessel top break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) simulation experiment. The CET temperatures are used to start accident management (AM) action to quickly depressurize steam generator (SG) secondary sides in case of core temperature excursion. Test 6-1 is the first test of the OECD/NEA ROSA Project started in 2005, simulating withdraw of a control rod drive mechanism penetration nozzle at the vessel top head. The break size is equivalent to 1.9% cold leg break. The AM action was initiated when CET temperature rose up to 623K. There was no reflux water fallback onto the CETs during the core heat-up period. The core overheat, however, was detected with a time delay of about 230s. In addition, a large temperature discrepancy was observed between the CETs and the hottest core region. This paper clarifies the reasons of time delay and temperature discrepancy between the CETs and heated core during boil-off including three-dimensional steam flows in the core and core exit. The paper discusses applicability of the LSTF CET performance to pressurized water reactor (PWR) conditions and a possibility of alternative indicators for earlier AM action than in Test 6-1 is studied by using symptom-based plant parameters such as a reactor vessel water level detection.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S276) ◽  
pp. 221-224
Author(s):  
Eric B. Ford

AbstractRadial velocity surveys have discovered over 400 exoplanets. While measuring eccentricities of low-mass planets remains a challenge, giant exoplanets display a broad range of orbital eccentricities. Recently, spectroscopic measurements during transit have demonstrated that the short-period giant planets (“hot-Jupiters”) also display a broad range of orbital inclinations (relative to the rotation axis of the host star). Both properties pose a challenge for simple disk migration models and suggest that late-stage orbital evolution can play an important role in determining the final architecture of planetary systems. One possible formation mechanism for the inclined hot-Jupiters is some form of eccentricity excitation (e.g., planet scattering, secular perturbations due to a distant planet or wide binary) followed tidal circularization. The planet scattering hypothesis also makes predictions for the population of planets at large separations. Recent discoveries of planets on wide orbits via direct imaging and highly anticipated results from upcoming direct imaging campaigns are poised to provide a new type of constraint on planet formation. This proceedings describes recent progress in understanding the formation of giant exoplanets.


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