Results from a set of three-dimensional numerical experiments of a hot Jupiter atmosphere

Nathan J. Mayne , Florian Debras (1) , Isabelle Baraffe (1) , John Thuburn , David S. Amundsen , David M. Acreman , Chris Smith , Matthew K. Browning , James Manners , Nigel Wood

1 CRAL - Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon

We present highlights from a large set of simulations of a hot Jupiter atmosphere, nominally based on HD 209458b, aimed at exploring both the evolution of the deep atmosphere, and the acceleration of the zonal flow or jet. We find the occurrence of a super-rotating equatorial jet is robust to changes in various parameters, and over long timescales, even in the absence of strong inner or bottom boundary drag. This jet is diminished in one simulation only, where we strongly force the deep atmosphere equator-to-pole temperature gradient over long timescales. Finally, although the eddy momentum fluxes in our atmosphere show similarities with the proposed mechanism for accelerating jets on tidally-locked planets, the picture appears more complex. We present tentative evidence for a jet driven by a combination of eddy momentum transport and mean flow.

Keywords: hydrodynamics; radiative transfer; planets and satellites: atmospheres; planets and satellites: gaseous planets; planets and satellites: general

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Astrophysics [astro-ph]

Nathan J. Mayne, Florian Debras, Isabelle Baraffe, John Thuburn, David S. Amundsen, et al.. Results from a set of three-dimensional numerical experiments of a hot Jupiter atmosphere. Astronomy and Astrophysics - A&A, 2017, 604, ⟨10.1051/0004-6361/201730465⟩. ⟨insu-03710617⟩