Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Jan 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21340310j&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #403.10; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.195
Statistics
Computation
Scientific paper
Short-period extrasolar giant planets (hot Jupiters) experience periods of strong tidal dissipation. It is not well known whether tidal energy is deposited primarily in the deep interior or the surface layers of these planets, or what effect the location of tidal heating has on their evolution and observable properties (e.g. radii, spectra, and rate of mass loss in a planetary wind). I present a study of the local tidal heating rate as a function of latitude and depth in the radiative envelope and atmosphere (between pressure levels of about 1 kilobar and 0.001 microbars). Results are based on a nonadiabatic linear analysis of the tide in this region, which takes the form of an upward-propagating train of inertial-gravity waves excited at the interface between the convective interior and the stably-stratified envelope. Radiative damping dominates the dissipation. Careful attention is paid to the computation of the radiative relaxation timescale, using nongray radiative transfer to transition smoothly from the optically thick to the optically thin regime. The potential exists for conversion from inertial-gravity waves to pure inertial waves in the presence of strong radiative damping. This raises the possibility that a significant tidal energy flux can be transported as high as the base of the thermosphere, where it would contribute to driving atmospheric escape.
Results can be used to chart local tidal heating rates over the lifetime of a hot Jupiter as its orbit and rotation rate evolve. Although the potential for high-altitude tidal heating is intriguing, I find that over a wide range of orbital parameters the bulk of the energy flux is dissipated nearer the IR photosphere. Tidal heating at those heights (around 0.1-10 bars) has the greatest potential to affect the emergent spectrum, and is least likely to slow the planet's rate of contraction.
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