Hot Spot Offset Variability from Magnetohydrodynamical Thermoresistive Instability in Hot Jupiters

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Hardy, Raphaël, Charbonneau, Paul, Cumming, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Hardy, Raphaël
Charbonneau, Paul
Cumming, Andrew
author_facet Hardy, Raphaël
Charbonneau, Paul
Cumming, Andrew
contents Hot Jupiter atmospheres are possibly subject to a thermoresistive instability. Such an instability may develop as the ohmic heating increases the electrical conductivity in a positive feedback loop, which ultimately leads to a runaway of the atmospheric temperature. We extend our previous axisymmetric one-dimensional radial model, by representing the temperature and magnetic diffusivity as a first order Fourier expansion in longitude. This allows us to predict the hot spot offset during the unfolding of the thermoresistive instability and following Alfvénic oscillations. We show a representative simulation undergoing the thermoresistive instability, in which the peak flux offset varies between approximately $\pm 60^{\circ}$ on timescales of a few days with potentially observable brightness variations. Therefore, this thermoresistive instability could be an observable feature of hot Jupiters, given the right timing of observation and transit and the right planetary parameters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_08960
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hot Spot Offset Variability from Magnetohydrodynamical Thermoresistive Instability in Hot Jupiters
Hardy, Raphaël
Charbonneau, Paul
Cumming, Andrew
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Hot Jupiter atmospheres are possibly subject to a thermoresistive instability. Such an instability may develop as the ohmic heating increases the electrical conductivity in a positive feedback loop, which ultimately leads to a runaway of the atmospheric temperature. We extend our previous axisymmetric one-dimensional radial model, by representing the temperature and magnetic diffusivity as a first order Fourier expansion in longitude. This allows us to predict the hot spot offset during the unfolding of the thermoresistive instability and following Alfvénic oscillations. We show a representative simulation undergoing the thermoresistive instability, in which the peak flux offset varies between approximately $\pm 60^{\circ}$ on timescales of a few days with potentially observable brightness variations. Therefore, this thermoresistive instability could be an observable feature of hot Jupiters, given the right timing of observation and transit and the right planetary parameters.
title Hot Spot Offset Variability from Magnetohydrodynamical Thermoresistive Instability in Hot Jupiters
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.08960