Related papers: Equatorial superrotation on tidally locked exoplan…
Hot Jupiters are typically assumed to be synchronously rotating, from tidal locking. Their thermally-driven atmospheric winds experience Lorentz drag on the planetary magnetic field anchored at depth. We find that the magnetic torque does…
We present investigations of rapidly-rotating convection in a thick spherical shell geometry relevant to planetary cores, comparing results from Quasi-Geostrophic, 3D and hybrid QG-3D models. The 170 reported calculations span Ekman…
In this paper, we present the consistent evolution of short-period exoplanets coupling the tidal and gravothermal evolution of the planet. Contrarily to previous similar studies, our calculations are based on the complete tidal evolution…
Recent observations of convection in the jovian atmosphere have demonstrated that convection is strongly concentrated at specific locations on planet. For instance, observations of lightning show that the cyclonic features (e.g,. belts and…
Tidal heating on Io due to its finite eccentricity was predicted to drive surface volcanic activity, which was subsequently confirmed by the $\textit{Voyager}$ spacecrafts. Although the volcanic activity in Io is more complex, in theory…
Turbulent friction in convective regions in stars and planets is one of the key physical mechanisms that drive the dissipation of the kinetic energy of tidal flows in their interiors and the evolution of their systems. This friction acts…
The discovery of Jupiter-mass planets in close orbits about their parent stars has challenged models of planet formation. Recent observations have shown that a number of these planets have highly inclined, sometimes retrograde orbits about…
The inner edge of the classical habitable zone is often defined by the critical flux needed to trigger the runaway greenhouse instability. This 1D notion of a critical flux, however, may not be so relevant for inhomogeneously irradiated…
We study rapidly-rotating Boussinesq convection driven by internal heating in a full sphere. We use a numerical model based on the quasi-geostrophic approximation for the velocity field, whereas the temperature field is three-dimensional.…
The existence of giant extrasolar planets on short-period orbits ("hot Jupiters") challenges planet formation theories because such planets are difficult to form close to the star. High-eccentricity migration is a leading explanation, in…
We investigate baroclinic instability in flow conditions relevant to hot extrasolar planets. The instability is important for transporting and mixing heat, as well as for influencing large-scale variability on the planets. Both linear…
The hot Jupiter WASP-43b has now joined the ranks of transiting hot Jupiters HD 189733b and HD 209458b as an exoplanet with a large array of observational constraints on its atmospheric properties. Because WASP-43b receives a similar…
Tidally locked exoplanets likely host global atmospheric circulations with a superrotating equatorial jet, planetary-scale stationary waves and thermally-driven overturning circulation. In this work, we show that each of these features can…
Gas giant planets orbiting within 0.1 AU of their host stars, unlikely to have formed in situ, are evidence for planetary migration. It is debated whether the typical hot Jupiter smoothly migrated inward from its formation location through…
Hot Jupiters are expected to form far from their host star and move toward close-in, circular orbits via a smooth, monotonic decay due to mild and constant tidal dissipation. Yet, three systems have recently been found exhibiting…
We survey the basic principles of atmospheric dynamics relevant to explaining existing and future observations of exoplanets, both gas giant and terrestrial. Given the paucity of data on exoplanet atmospheres, our approach is to emphasize…
The anomalously large radii of strongly irradiated exoplanets have remained a major puzzle in astronomy. Based on a 2D steady state atmospheric circulation model, the validity of which is assessed by comparison to 3D calculations, we reveal…
We report a calculation of time-dependent quasi-geostrophic core flows for 1940-2010. Inverting recursively for an ensemble of solutions, we evaluate the main source of uncertainties, namely the model errors arising from interactions…
The tidal heating of hypothetical rocky (or terrestrial) extra-solar planets spans a wide range of values depending on stellar masses and initial orbits. Tidal heating may be sufficiently large (in many cases, in excess of radiogenic…
Solar jets are fast-moving, elongated brightenings related to ejections seen in both images and spectra on all scales from barely visible chromospheric jets to coronal jets extending up to a few solar radii. The largest, most powerful jets…