Estimating mixing in hot Jupiter atmospheres
Abstract
Ground- and space-based observations of exoplanets have shown that like solar system planets and brown dwarfs, clouds are ubiquitous in exoplanet atmospheres. However, the dynamics that underpin their formation and transport are still poorly understood. In order to further elucidate the three-dimensional mixing in exoplanet atmospheres, we present a generalized study comparing the dynamics of exoplanets to brown dwarfs and solar system planets. We utilize previously published hot Jupiter GCMs to estimate the microphysical timescales that dictate cloud formation and calculate horizontal and vertical wind profiles, and compare those to these other classes of substellar objects. In doing so, we can provide a framework for which to explain the small cloud particle sizes observed in hot Jupiters, and create a generalized profile for vertical mixing in hot Jupiter atmospheres.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #48
- Pub Date:
- October 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016DPS....4820709K