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On Signatures of Atmospheric Features in Thermal Phase Curves of Hot Jupiters

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Emily Rauscher1, Kristen Menou1, James Y-K. Cho2, Sara Seager3 and Bradley M. S. Hansen4

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Turbulence is ubiquitous in solar system planetary atmospheres. In hot Jupiter atmospheres, the combination of moderately slow rotation and thick pressure scale height may result in dynamical weather structures with unusually large, planetary-size scales. Using equivalent-barotropic, turbulent circulation models, we illustrate how such structures can generate a variety of features in the thermal phase curves of hot Jupiters, including phase shifts and deviations from periodicity. Such features may have been spotted in the recent infrared phase curve of HD 189733b. Despite inherent difficulties with the interpretation of disk-integrated quantities, phase curves promise to offer unique constraints on the nature of the circulation regime present on hot Jupiters.

Subject headings

infrared: general; infrared: stars; planetary systems; stars: atmospheres; turbulence


Dates

Issue 2 (2008 July 10)

Received 2007 December 13, accepted for publication 2008 April 15



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