Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.0407s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #4.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.392
Other
Scientific paper
The stellar flux incident on hot Jupiters -- gas giants within 0.1 AU of their stars -- is expected to drive an atmospheric circulation that shapes the day-night temperature difference, infrared lightcurves, spectrum, albedo, and atmospheric composition. Although several atmospheric-dynamics models of these objects have been published, all adopt simplified heating/cooling schemes that preclude robust predictions for the 3D temperature patterns, spectra, and lightcurves. Here, we present cloud-free simulations of hot Jupiters from the first 3D general circulation model (GCM) that couples the atmospheric dynamics to a realistic representation of radiative transfer. We emphasize HD189733b and HD209458b, which are the best observationally constrained hot Jupiters and which represent an interesting pair because one (HD209458b) appears to have a dayside stratosphere while the other (HD189733b) does not. Our simulations develop large day-night temperature contrasts and winds reaching speeds of several km/sec. A prograde equatorial jet forms with retrograde flows at higher latitudes, which leads to an eastward displacement of the hottest regions from the substellar point and coldest regions from the antistellar point. For HD189733b, our predicted lightcurves compare favorably with lightcurves observed at 8 and 24 microns with the Spitzer Space Telescope, including the modest day-night flux variation and offset of the flux peak from the time of secondary eclipse. The simulated temperatures decrease with altitude, leading to a spectrum dominated by absorption features. For HD209458b, inclusion of TiO and VO opacity leads to a dayside thermal inversion layer (stratosphere) where temperatures rise above 2000 K, consistent with suggestions offered to explain the observed secondary-eclipse spectrum. Interestingly, however, our 3D models do not match the observed spectrum, which suggests that our simulated stratosphere does not yet have the correct properties (e.g., altitude and thermal gradient). We discuss the implications of these models for our general understanding of hot-Jupiter meteorology.
Charbonneau David
Fortney Jonathan J.
Knutson Heather A.
Lian Yaogang
Marley Mark S.
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