Aggregate Cloud Particle Effects in Exoplanet Atmospheres

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Vahidinia, Sanaz, Moran, Sarah E., Marley, Mark S., Cuzzi, Jeff N.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Vahidinia, Sanaz
Moran, Sarah E.
Marley, Mark S.
Cuzzi, Jeff N.
author_facet Vahidinia, Sanaz
Moran, Sarah E.
Marley, Mark S.
Cuzzi, Jeff N.
contents Aerosol opacity has emerged as a critical factor controlling transmission and emission spectra. We provide a simple guideline for the effects of aerosol morphology on opacity and residence time in the atmosphere, as it pertains to transit observations, particularly those with flat spectra due to high altitude aerosols. This framework can be used for understanding complex cloud and haze particle properties before getting into detailed microphysical modeling. We consider high altitude aerosols to be composed of large fluffy particles that can have large residence times in the atmosphere and influence the deposition of stellar flux and/or the emergence of thermal emission in a different way than compact droplet particles, as generally modeled to date for extrasolar planetary atmospheres. We demonstrate the important influence of aggregate particle porosity and composition on the extent of the wavelength independent regime. We also consider how such fluffy particles reach such high altitudes and conclude that the most likely scenario is their local production at high altitudes via UV bombardment and subsequent blanketing of the atmosphere, rather than some mechanism of lofting or transport from the lower atmosphere.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_11215
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Aggregate Cloud Particle Effects in Exoplanet Atmospheres
Vahidinia, Sanaz
Moran, Sarah E.
Marley, Mark S.
Cuzzi, Jeff N.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Aerosol opacity has emerged as a critical factor controlling transmission and emission spectra. We provide a simple guideline for the effects of aerosol morphology on opacity and residence time in the atmosphere, as it pertains to transit observations, particularly those with flat spectra due to high altitude aerosols. This framework can be used for understanding complex cloud and haze particle properties before getting into detailed microphysical modeling. We consider high altitude aerosols to be composed of large fluffy particles that can have large residence times in the atmosphere and influence the deposition of stellar flux and/or the emergence of thermal emission in a different way than compact droplet particles, as generally modeled to date for extrasolar planetary atmospheres. We demonstrate the important influence of aggregate particle porosity and composition on the extent of the wavelength independent regime. We also consider how such fluffy particles reach such high altitudes and conclude that the most likely scenario is their local production at high altitudes via UV bombardment and subsequent blanketing of the atmosphere, rather than some mechanism of lofting or transport from the lower atmosphere.
title Aggregate Cloud Particle Effects in Exoplanet Atmospheres
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.11215