Precipitating Condensation Clouds in Substellar Atmospheres

Details Precipitating Condensation Clouds in Substellar Atmospheres Precipitating Condensation Clouds in Substellar Atmospheres

2001-03-26

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0103423v2

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

33 pages including 7 figures; AASTex; Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal, tentatively scheduled for v556 n1 Jul

Scientific paper

10.1086/321540

We present a method to calculate vertical profiles of particle size distributions in condensation clouds of giant planets and brown dwarfs. The method assumes a balance between turbulent diffusion and sedimentation in horizontally uniform cloud decks. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are compared with results from previous methods. An adjustable parameter describing the efficiency of sedimentation allows the new model to span the range of predictions made by previous models. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are consistent with observations. Example calculations are provided for water, silicate, and iron clouds on brown dwarfs and on a cool extrasolar giant planet. We find that precipitating cloud decks naturally account for the characteristic trends seen in the spectra and colors of L- and T-type ultracool dwarfs.

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