A Unified Theory for the Atmospheres of the Hot and Very Hot Jupiters: Two Classes of Irradiated Atmospheres

TL;DR

This paper proposes a unified model classifying highly irradiated hot Jupiters into two atmospheric types based on TiO/VO opacity, predicting their thermal structures, spectra, and observational signatures.

Contribution

It introduces a two-class framework for hot Jupiter atmospheres, linking atmospheric composition to observable thermal and spectral properties, supported by detailed models.

Findings

pM Class planets have hot stratospheres (~2000 K) and high mid-IR brightness.

pL Class planets have deeper absorption, leading to more efficient heat redistribution.

The boundary between classes occurs at ~0.04-0.05 AU from a Sun-like star.

Abstract

We highlight the importance of gaseous TiO and VO opacity on the highly irradiated close-in giant planets. The atmospheres of these planets naturally fall into two classes that are somewhat analogous to the M- and L-type dwarfs. Those that are warm enough to have appreciable opacity due to TiO and VO gases we term the ``pM Class'' planets, and those that are cooler we term ``pL Class'' planets. We calculate model atmospheres for these planets, including pressure-temperature profiles, spectra, and characteristic radiative time constants. We show that pM Class planets have hot stratospheres $\sim$2000 K and appear ``anomalously'' bright in the mid infrared secondary eclipse, as was recently found for planets HD 149026b and HD 209458b. This class of planets absorbs incident flux and emits thermal flux from high in their atmospheres. Consequently, they will have large day/night temperature contrasts and negligible phase shifts between orbital phase and thermal emission light curves, because radiative timescales are much shorter than possible dynamical timescales. The pL Class planets absorb incident flux deeper in the atmosphere where atmospheric dynamics will more readily redistribute absorbed energy. This will lead to cooler day sides, warmer night sides, and larger phase shifts in thermal emission light curves. Around a Sun-like primary this boundary occurs at $\sim$0.04-0.05 AU. The eccentric transiting planets HD 147506b and HD 17156b alternate between the classes. Thermal emission in the optical from pM Class planets is significant red-ward of 400 nm, making these planets attractive targets for optical detection. The difference in the observed day/night contrast between ups Andromeda b (pM Class) and HD 189733b (pL Class) is naturally explained in this scenario. (Abridged.)