Chemistry in the Deep Atmospheres of Giant Planets and Brown Dwarfs: Transitioning Between the Thermochemical and Photochemical Regimes

Details Chemistry in the Deep Atmospheres of Giant Planets and Brown Dwarfs: Transitioning Between the Thermochemical and Photochemical Regimes Chemistry in the Deep Atmospheres of Giant Planets and Brown Dwarfs: Transitioning Between the Thermochemical and Photochemical Regimes

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.1403m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #14.03

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We have developed a 1-D chemical kinetics and transport model for hydrogen-dominated planets and brown dwarfs that transitions correctly from the thermochemical equilibrium regime in the deep troposphere to the "quenched equilibrium” and photochemical regimes in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. The "quench” points - i.e., the pressure-temperature levels at which rapid transport and finite kinetics drive the atmosphere out of equilibrium - are readily derived from the calculations. The model reproduces thermochemical equilibrium under steady-state conditions with no transport. When convective transport is included, the model accurately tracks the quenching process and determines the vertical abundance profiles of various disequilibrium species. We discuss the key kinetic reactions responsible for controlling the abundances of quenched carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus species and evaluate the time-scale arguments currently used to predict the abundances of these species. Implications for the deep elemental abundances, giant-planet formation scenarios, and the observed composition of Jupiter and brown dwarfs will be discussed. This work was supported by NASA Planetary Atmospheres grant NNX09AB55G.

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