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

Abstract

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.

Authors:

Debrecht, Alex  ^[1];

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

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+ Show Author Affiliations

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

Publication Date:

2018-11-27

Research Org.:

Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF); Space Telescope Science Institute

OSTI Identifier:

1485345

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1610512

Grant/Contract Number:  

SC0001063; TG-AST120060; ACI-1548562; AST-1515648; AST-1411536; HST-AR-12832.01-A

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal Volume: 483 Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0035-8711

Publisher:

Royal Astronomical Society

Country of Publication:

United Kingdom

Language:

English

Subject:

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