Related papers: Geodesic Transport Barriers in Jupiter's Atmospher…
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…
In-order to understand the results of recent observations of exoplanets, models have become increasingly complex. Unfortunately this increases both the computational cost and output size of said models. We intend to explore if…
Hot Jupiter atmospheres exhibit fast, weakly-ionized winds. The interaction of these winds with the planetary magnetic field generates drag on the winds and leads to ohmic dissipation of the induced electric currents. We study the magnitude…
The eddy fluxes of angular momentum in Jupiter's upper troposphere are known to converge in prograde jets and diverge in retrograde jets. Away from the equator, this implies convergence of the Eulerian mean meridional flow in zones…
Jupiter's gravity field observed by NASA's Juno spacecraft indicates that the density in the 10--100 GPa region is lower than one would expect from a H/He adiabat with 0.5-5x solar water abundance as has been observationally inferred in…
Through a simple physical argument we show that the slant optical depth through the atmosphere of a "hot Jupiter" planet is 35-90 times greater than the normal optical depth. This not unexpected result has direct consequences for the method…
Observations of Jupiter's deep atmosphere by the Juno spacecraft have revealed several puzzling facts: The concentration of ammonia is variable down to pressures of tens of bars, and is strongly dependent on latitude. While most latitudes…
The nucleosynthetic isotope dichotomy between carbonaceous (CC) and non-carbonaceous (NC) meteorites has been interpreted as evidence for spatial separation and the coexistence of two distinct planet-forming reservoirs for several million…
We probe the structure and composition of the atmospheres of 5 hot Jupiter exoplanets using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. We use the G141 grism (1.1-1.7 $\mu$m) to study TrES-2b, TrES-4b, and CoRoT-1b in…
The new data delivered by NASA's Juno spacecraft significantly increase our understanding of Jupiter's internal dynamics. The gravity data constrain the depth of the zonal flows observed at cloud level and suggest that they slow down…
Of the over 800 exoplanets detected to date, over half are on non-circular orbits, with eccentricities as high as 0.93. Such orbits lead to time-variable stellar heating, which has implications for the planet's atmospheric dynamical regime.…
Results from Juno's microwave radiometer indicate non-uniform mixing of ammonia vapor in Jupiter's atmosphere down to tens of bars, far beneath the cloud level. Helioseismic observations suggest solar convection may require narrow,…
The interior flux of a giant planet impacts atmospheric motion, and the atmosphere dictates the interior's cooling. Here we use a non-hydrostatic general circulation model (Simulating Nonhydrostatic Atmospheres on Planets, SNAP) coupled…
Atmospheric compositions preserve the history of planet formation processes. Jupiter has the remarkable feature of being uniformly enriched in various elements compared to the Sun, including highly volatile elements such as nitrogen and…
The full-phase infrared light curves of low-eccentricity hot Jupiters show a trend of increasing dayside-to-nightside brightness temperature difference with increasing equilibrium temperature. Here we present a three-dimensional model that…
Observations have revealed that a significant number of hot Jupiters have anomalously large radii. Layered convection induced by compositional inhomogeneity has been proposed to account for the radius anomaly of hot Jupiters. To reexamine…
The shape of the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, is determined primarily by their rotation rate, and interior density distribution. It is also affected by their zonal winds, causing an anomaly of O(10 km) at low latitudes. However,…
Ultra-hot Jupiters are among the best targets for atmospheric characterization at high spectral resolution. Resolving their transmission spectra as a function of orbital phase offers a unique window into the 3D nature of these objects. In…
Observations of scattered light and thermal emission from hot Jupiter exoplanets have suggested the presence of inhomogeneous aerosols in their atmospheres. 3D general circulation models (GCMs) that attempt to model the effects of aerosols…
We classify within the quasi-geostrophic framework all types of traveling waves in zonal bands of the planetary atmosphere at cloud level according to their wave speeds. This classification pertains to waves of all amplitudes, going beyond…