Photoevaporative flows from exoplanet atmospheres: a 3D radiative hydrodynamic parameter study

Journal Article · Tue Nov 27 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sty3212· OSTI ID:1485345

Debrecht, Alex  ^[1]; Carroll-Nellenback, Jonathan ^[1]; Frank, Adam ^[1]; McCann, John ^[2]; Murray-Clay, Ruth ^[3]; Blackman, Eric G. ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
2. Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
3. Physics and Astronomy Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA

he photoionization-driven evaporation of planetary atmospheres has emerged as a potentially fundamental process for planets on short-period orbits. While 1D studies have proven the effectiveness of stellar fluxes at altering the atmospheric mass and composition for sub-Jupiter mass planets, there remains much that is uncertain with regard to the larger scale, multidimensional nature of such ‘planetary wind’ flows. In this paper we use a new radiation-hydrodynamic platform to simulate atmospheric evaporative flows. Using the astrobear adaptive mesh refinement (amr) multiphysics code in a co-rotating frame centred on the planet, we model the transfer of ionizing photons into the atmosphere, the subsequent launch of the wind and the wind’s large-scale evolution subject to tidal and non-inertial forces. We run simulations for planets of 0.263 and 0.07 Jupiter masses and stellar fluxes of 2 × 10¹³ and 2 × 10¹⁴ photons cm^-2 s^-1. Our results reveal new, potentially observable planetary wind flow patterns, including the development, in some cases, of an extended neutral tail lagging behind the planet in its orbit.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF); Space Telescope Science Institute
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0001063; TG-AST120060; ACI-1548562; AST-1515648; AST-1411536; HST-AR-12832.01-A
• OSTI ID: 1485345
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1610512
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 483 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Royal Astronomical Society
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
astronomy & astrophysics
hydrodynamics
planets and satellites
atmospheres
planet-star interactions