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In the solar convection zone, rotation couples with intensely turbulent convection to build global-scale flows of differential rotation and meridional circulation. Our sun must have rotated more rapidly in its past, as is suggested by…
We study the orbital evolution of the 4 giant planets of our solar system in a gas disk. Our investigation extends the previous works by Masset and Snellgrove (2001) and Morbidelli and Crida (2007, MC07), which focussed on the dynamics of…
During recent decades, data from space missions have provided strong evidence of deep liquid oceans underneath a thin outer icy crust on several moons of Jupiter, particularly Europa. But these observations have also raised many unanswered…
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 atmospheric structure of gas giants, especially those of Jupiter and Saturn, has been an object of scientific studies for a long time. The measurement of the gravitational fields by the Juno mission for Jupiter and the Cassini mission…
Giant planets in circumstellar disks can migrate inward from their initial (formation) positions. Radial migration is caused by inward torques between the planet and the disk; by outward torques between the planet and the spinning star; and…
The modestly eccentric and non-coplanar orbits of the giant planets pose a challenge to solar system formation theories which generally indicate that the giant planets emerged from the protoplanetary disk in nearly perfectly circular and…
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…
Zonal winds on Jovian planets play an important role in governing the cloud dynamics, transport of momentum, scalars, and weather patterns. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the evolution of the zonal flows and their sustainability.…
The study of exoplanet atmospheres showed large diversity compared to the planets in our solar system. Especially Jupiter type exoplanets orbiting their host star in close orbits, the so-called hot and ultra-hot Jupiters, have been studied…
Planets of 1-4 times Earth's size on orbits shorter than 100 days exist around 30-50% of all Sun-like stars. In fact, the Solar System is particularly outstanding in its lack of "hot super-Earths" (or "mini-Neptunes"). These planets -- or…
We explore the possibility that large-scale convection be inhibited over some regions of giant planet interiors, as a consequence of a gradient of composition inherited either from their formation history or from particular events like…
Orbits of known extrasolar planets that are located outside the tidal circularization regions of their parent stars are often substantially eccentric. By contrast, planetary orbits in our Solar System are approximately circular, reflecting…
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…
The surface of both Jupiter and Saturn has magnificent vortical storms which help shape the dynamic nature of their atmospheres. Land- and space-based observational campaigns over time have established several properties of these vortices,…
We investigate the accretion flow around a giant planet using two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations by studying the local region of accretion disk around the planet. The results show that, when the initial orbit of the planet embedded…
In hot and ultra-hot Jupiters, stellar irradiation is a primary driver of atmospheric circulation and the wave structures that sustain it. We aim to investigate how variations in radiative and dynamical timescales influence global flow…
In the core accretion model, gas giant formation is a race between growth and migration; for a core to become a jovian planet, it must accrete its envelope before it spirals into the host star. We use a multizone numerical model to extend…
Instabilities and strong dynamical interactions between multiple giant planets have been proposed as a possible explanation for the surprising orbital properties of extrasolar planetary systems. In particular, dynamical instabilities seem…
Stratospheric heating, condensation, convective transport of non-equilibrium species, and deep radiative energy transport are important processes in the atmospheres of the solar jovian planets. They likely affect the atmospheres of…