Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011ess.....2.1207g&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, ESS meeting #2, #12.07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Atmospheres control the temperatures and structure of planets both by the amount of radiation that they absorb, reflect or reemit and by the rate at which they allow internal heat to escape. This is particularly important for close-in (transiting) fluid exoplanets (both traditional giant planets, so-called "ice-giants" and brown dwarfs) because of their progressive contraction and the possibility to determine their composition from the measurement of their size, mass, age and from evolution models. However, their atmospheres exhibit significant latitudinal and longitudinal temperature variations, strong winds, their chemistry and cloud structure is probably complex, and non-radiative processes (e.g. linked to ionization and magnetic fields) may affect their properties in a significant way. On the basis of a simple but consistent model to link atmosphere and interior, we will detail how these unknowns affect our knowledge of these planets, in particular, how they prevent us from inferring reliably their global composition. We will discuss the role of clouds and of heating mechanisms such as Ohmic dissipation. We will show that the evolution of these objects differ slightly depending on whether heavy elements are mostly embedded in a central core or distributed throughout their envelope. Through the measurement of atmospheric properties and chemical abundances and through statistical analyses of the ensemble of known transiting planets, observational tests will be crucial to distinguish between the various possibilities.
Guillot Tristan
Parmentier V.
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