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| Paper: |
Atmospheric Circulation of "Pegasi" Planets |
| Volume: |
294, Scientific Frontiers in Research on Extrasolar Planets |
| Page: |
513 |
| Authors: |
Showman, A. P.; Guillot, T. |
| Abstract: |
We examine the atmospheric circulation of giant planets within 0.1 AU of their stars and discuss the implications for current and future measurements of their planetary radii, horizontal temperature variability, and clouds. Previous radiative-transfer and evolution models of such planets assume a homogeneous atmosphere. Simple arguments suggest, however, that at the photosphere the day-night temperature differences and wind speeds may reach about 500K and about 2 km/sec, respectively. Three-dimensional, nonlinear numerical simulations of the atmospheric circulation of HD209458b produce winds exceeding 1 km/sec that blow the hottest regions away from the substellar point, which has important implications for the infrared light curves of these planets. Furthermore, we show that kinetic energy produced in their atmospheres can be transported into the interiors at a rate great enough to affect the long-term evolution. If the interiors of these planets are close to synchronous rotation and the energy is dissipated locally in the interior, this source of energy could be significant enough to explain the (large) radius of HD209458b. |
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