Response of Earth-like tidally locked exoplanets to changes in stellar irradiance (Invited)

The sensitivity of the climate of extrasolar planets to variations in the stellar irradiance (or solar constant) is of fundamental importance in determining planetary habitability. This sensitivity is determined, in part, by the mean-state atmospheric circulations, which are known to set the spatial structure of surface temperature and precipitation on Earth-like exoplanets. Here, we present the results of a series of atmospheric general circulation model simulations where the stellar flux is varied from values substantially below that of Earth to substantially above that of Earth. The sensitivity of the tidally locked configuration is compared to an Earth-like configuration of the same model to examine the extent to which they fundamentally differ. We highlight the critical role of the atmospheric circulation in responding to increases in stellar flux and thus affecting the spatial pattern of warming in the tidally locked configuration: the simulated region of maximum warming is located on the night side of the planet---away from the region where the stellar flux is perturbed.