Weather on Remote Worlds: The Atmospheric Circulation of the Hot Jupiters
Adam Showman
University of Arizona
About 800 planets have been discovered around other stars, many of
which orbit extremely close-in, where they receive enormous stellar
fluxes. The intense radiation on these planets is expected to drive a
vigorous atmospheric circulation that shapes the day-night temperature
difference, infrared light curves, spectra, albedo, and atmospheric
composition. Indeed, recent spacebased and groundbased telescope
observations exhibit evidence for dynamical meteorology in the atmospheres
of these so-called "hot Jupiters". This new observational vanguard opens
the possibility of extending our understanding of atmospheric circulation
beyond the confines of the Solar System, and it raises fundamental
questions about planetary climate and habitability. Here I will survey
this exciting new field and describe recent research elucidating the
dynamical mechanisms that operate to control the atmospheric circulation
in these planets' atmospheres. To emphasize the similarities as well
as differences, I will ground this discussion in our understanding of
the more familiar atmospheric dynamical regime of Earth, as well as our
"local" giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Date: | Tuesday, 10 April 2012 |
Time: | 16:00 |
Where: | McGill University |
| Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103) |
Contact: | Robert Rutledge |
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