The Magnetic Mechanism for Hotspot Reversals in Hot Jupiter Atmospheres

TL;DR

This paper investigates how magnetic fields can reverse hotspot offsets in hot Jupiters by obstructing wind patterns, using simulations and linear analysis to identify conditions for westward hotspot shifts.

Contribution

It introduces a new magnetic mechanism explaining hotspot reversals, supported by simulations and linear theory, linking magnetic fields to wind and hotspot dynamics in hot Jupiters.

Findings

Strong magnetic fields can cause westward hotspot offsets.

Magnetic fields align winds with the magnetic field, reversing the usual eastward shift.

Reversal criteria can constrain magnetic field strengths in hot Jupiters.

Abstract

Magnetically-driven hotspot variations (which are tied to atmospheric wind variations) in hot Jupiters are studied using non-linear numerical simulations of a shallow-water magnetohydrodynamic (SWMHD) system and a linear analysis of equatorial SWMHD waves. In hydrodynamic models, mid-to-high latitude geostrophic circulations are known to cause a net west-to-east equatorial thermal energy transfer, which drives hotspot offsets eastward. We find that a strong toroidal magnetic field can obstruct these energy transporting circulations. This results in winds aligning with the magnetic field and generates westward Lorentz force accelerations in hotspot regions, ultimately causing westward hotspot offsets. In the subsequent linear analysis we find that this reversal mechanism has an equatorial wave analogy in terms of the planetary scale equatorial magneto-Rossby waves. We compare our findings to three-dimensional MHD simulations, both quantitively and qualitatively, identifying the link between the mechanics of magnetically-driven hotspot and wind reversals. We use the developed theory to identify physically-motivated reversal criteria, which can be used to place constraints on the magnetic fields of ultra-hot Jupiters with observed westward hotspots.