Clouds in Three-Dimensional Models of Hot Jupiters Over a Wide Range of Temperatures I: Thermal Structures and Broadband Phase Curve Predictions

TL;DR

This study uses a general circulation model to explore how clouds affect the thermal structures and observable phase curves of hot Jupiters across a wide temperature range, revealing significant impacts on their atmospheric properties.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive set of 3D models with temperature-dependent clouds, showing their influence on hot Jupiter atmospheres and observable phase curves, which was not previously detailed.

Findings

Clouds increase planetary albedos and decrease nightside temperatures.

Cloud presence leads to larger IR phase curve amplitudes and smaller offsets.

Optical phase curves tend to be westward at intermediate temperatures with clouds confined to nightside and western limb.

Abstract

Using a general circulation model (GCM), we investigate trends in simulated hot Jupiter atmospheres for a range of irradiation temperatures (1,500 - 4,000 K), surface gravities (10 and 40 m s-2), and cloud conditions. Our models include simplified temperature-dependent clouds with radiative feedback and show how different cloud compositions, vertical thicknesses, and opacities shape hot Jupiters atmospheres by potentially increasing planetary albedos, decreasing photospheric pressures and nightside temperatures, and in some cases producing strong dayside thermal inversions. With decreasing irradiation, clouds progressively form on the nightside and cooler western limb followed by the eastern limb and central dayside. We find that clouds significantly modify the radiative transport and affect the observable properties of planets colder than T_irr ~ 3,000~K (T_eq~2,100 K) depending on the clouds' vertical extent. The precise strength of expected effects depends on the assumed parameters, but trends in predicted phase curves emerge from an ensemble of simulations. Clouds lead to larger phase curve amplitudes and smaller phase curve offsets at IR wavelengths, compared to cloud-free models. At optical wavelengths, we predict mostly westward phase curve offsets at intermediate temperatures (T_irr ~ 2,000 - 3,500 K) with clouds confined to the nightside and western limb. If clouds are vertically compact (i.e. on order of a pressure scale height in thickness), their distributions and effects become more complicated as different condensates form at different heights -- some too deep to significantly affect the observable atmosphere. Our results have implications for interpreting the diversity of phase curve observations of planets with T_irr <~3,000~K.