Related papers: Stable stratification promotes multiple zonal jets…
The surface winds of Jupiter and Saturn are primarily zonal. Each planet exhibits strong prograde equatorial flow flanked by multiple alternating zonal winds at higher latitudes. The depth to which these flows penetrate has long been…
Gas giant planets are differentially rotating magnetic objects that have strong and complex interactions with their environment. In our Solar system, they interact with their numerous moons while exoplanets with very short orbital periods…
Context: Observations indicate that the `quiet' solar photosphere outside active regions contains considerable amounts of magnetic energy and magnetic flux, with mixed polarity on small scales. The origin of this flux is unclear. Aims: We…
A remarkable phenomenon in turbulent flows is the spontaneous emergence of coherent large spatial scale zonal jets. Geophysical examples of this phenomenon include the Jovian banded winds and the Earth's polar front jet. In this work a…
We present the first results from three-dimensional spherical shell simulations of magnetic dynamo action realized by turbulent convection penetrating downward into a tachocline of rotational shear. This permits us to assess several…
Ring seismology has recently revealed the presence of internal gravity waves inside Saturn that extend up to 60% of Saturn's radius starting from the center, in what is recognized today as Saturn's stably-stratified dilute core. Similarly,…
Intense east-west winds called zonal jets are observed in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn and extend in their deep interior. We present experimental results from a fully three-dimensional laboratory analog of deep gas giants zonal…
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…
Observations of the Jovian upper atmosphere at high latitudes in the UV, IR and mm/sub-mm all indicate that the chemical distributions and thermal structure are broadly influenced by auroral particle precipitations. Mid-IR and UV…
The atmospheric circulation of tidally locked planets is dominated by a superrotating eastward equatorial jet. We develop a predictive theory for the formation of this jet, proposing a mechanism in which the three-dimensional stationary…
We review progress that has been made to constructa theory for the jet formation and maintenance in planetary atmospheres. The theory is built in the regime where velocityfluctuations around the base jet are very small compared to the…
Jupiter's icy moons are believed to host subsurface liquid oceans, and among them, Europa stands out as one of the most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life. Yet, the processes driving oceanic flows beneath its ice shell, as well…
We explain the emergence and stability of the most important jets and vortices, in the highly turbulent Jupiter's atmosphere, by a statistical mechanics of the potential vorticity mixing. Using the Quasi-Geostrophic 1-1/2 layer, with…
Brown dwarfs and directly imaged giant planets exhibit significant evidence for active atmospheric circulation, which induces a large-scale patchiness in the cloud structure that evolves significantly over time, as evidenced by infrared…
Two-dimensional simulations of hot Jupiter upper atmospheres including the planet's magnetic field are presented. The goal is to explore magnetic effects on the layer of the atmosphere that is ionized and heated by stellar EUV radiation,…
Observations of brown dwarfs and relatively isolated young extrasolar giant planets have provided unprecedented details to probe atmospheric dynamics in a new regime. Questions about mechanisms governing global circulation remain to be…
Magnetic fields of low-mass stars and planets are thought to originate from self-excited dynamo action in their convective interiors. Observations reveal a variety of field topologies ranging from large-scale, axial dipole to more…
Spectropolarimetric observations show that many low-mass stars possess large-scale poloidal magnetic fields with considerable dipole component, which in some cases exhibit temporal dynamics - cycles or reversals. Although it is widely…
We carry out an extensive linear stability analysis of magnetized cylindrical jets in a global framework. Foregoing the commonly invoked force-free limit, we focus on the small-scale, internal instabilities triggered in regions of the jet…
Recent Juno observations have suggested that the heavy elements in Jupiter could be diluted throughout a large fraction of its gaseous envelope, providing a stabilising compositional gradient over an extended region of the planet. This…