Related papers: East-west faults due to planetary contraction
Planets with masses between 0.1 - 10 M_earth are believed to host dense atmospheres. These atmospheres can play an important role on the planet's spin evolution, since thermal atmospheric tides, driven by the host star, may counterbalance…
The profile of the differential rotation together with the sign of the alpha-effect determine the dynamo wave direction. In early models of the solar dynamo the dynamo wave often leads to a poleward migration of the activity belts. Flux…
Extended topological defects (ETDs) arising in spherical hexagonal crystals due to their curvature are considered. These prevalent defects carry a unit total topological charge and are surrounded by scalene pentagonal boundaries.…
Recent discoveries of strongly misaligned transiting exoplanets pose a challenge to the established planet formation theory which assumes planetary systems to form and evolve in isolation. However, the fact that the majority of stars…
Tidal heating is the prime suspect behind Enceladus's south polar heating anomaly and global subsurface ocean. No model of internal tidal dissipation, however, can explain at the same time the total heat budget and the focusing of the…
A large fraction of known exoplanets have short orbital periods where tidal excitation of gravity waves within the host star causes the planets' orbits to decay. We study the effects of tidal resonance locking, in which the planet locks…
A large fraction of known rocky exoplanets are expected to have been spun-down to a state of synchronous rotation, including temperate ones. Studies about the atmospheric and surface processes occurring on such planets thus assume that the…
The burgeoning need to sequester anthropogenic CO$_2$ for climate mitigation and the need for energy sustenance leading upto enhanced geothermal energy production has made it incredibly critical to study potential earthquakes due to fluid…
We consider a disk-shaped thin elastic sheet bonded to a compliant sphere. (Our sheet can slip along the sphere; the bonding controls only its normal displacement.) If the bonding is stiff (but not too stiff), the geometry of the sphere…
In earthquake-prone regions, the accumulation of geophysical stress during the aseismic period plays a critical role in determining which faults are more likely to be reactivated in future seismic events. In this model, we consider an…
The orbital decay and tidal disruption of a star cluster in a galaxy is studied in an analytical manner. Owing to dynamical friction, the star cluster spirals in toward the center of the galaxy. Simultaneously, the galactic tidal field…
We investigate the role of latitudinal differential rotation (DR) in the spin evolution of solar-type stars. Recent asteroseismic observation detected the strong equator-fast DR in some solar-type stars. Numerical simulations show that the…
We study the dynamics of planetary systems with two planets moving in the same plane, when frictional forces act on the two planets, in addition to the gravitational forces. The model of the general three-body problem is used. Different…
Elliptical instability is due to a parametric resonance of two inertial modes in a fluid velocity field with elliptical streamlines. This flow is a simple model of the motion in a tidally deformed, rotating body. Elliptical instability…
We use a linear shallow-water model to investigate the global circulation of the atmospheres of tidally locked planets. Simulations, observations, and simple models show that if these planets are sufficiently rapidly rotating, their…
Changes in planetary obliquity, or axial tilt, influence the climates on Earth-like planets. In the solar system, the Earth's obliquity is stabilized due to interactions with our moon and the resulting {small amplitude variations…
Tidal dissipation in star-planet systems can occur through various mechanisms, among which is the elliptical instability. This acts on elliptically deformed equilibrium tidal flows in rotating fluid planets and stars, and excites inertial…
The planetary obliquity plays a significant role in determining physical properties of planetary surfaces and climate. As direct detection is constrained due to the present observation accuracy, kinetic theories are helpful to predict the…
Is there oceanic superrotation on exoplanets? Atmospheric superrotation, characterized by west-to-east winds over the equator, is a common phenomenon in the atmospheres of Venus, Titan, Saturn, Jupiter, and tidally locked exoplanets. The…
Misalignments between the orbital planes of planets and the equatorial planes of their host stars have been observed in our solar system, in transiting exoplanets, and in the orbital planes of debris discs. We present a mechanism that…