GCM-Motivated Multidimensional Temperature Parametrization Scheme for Phasecurve Retrieval

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new physically motivated, multidimensional temperature parametrization scheme for phase-curve retrieval, capable of modeling diverse planetary jet structures and providing physical insights into thermal dynamics.

Contribution

It presents a flexible, efficient temperature model inspired by GCMs and analytic formulations, enabling detailed assessment of thermal structures and jet characteristics in exoplanet atmospheres.

Findings

Able to generate various jet configurations including eastward and westward hotspots

Provides physical insights such as jet amplitude, phase offset, and location

Supports future Bayesian analysis with a tractable parameter set

Abstract

We present a novel physically motivated, parametrized temperature model for phase-curve retrieval, able to self-consistently assess the variation in thermal structure in multidimensions. To develop this approach, we drew motivation from both full three-dimensional general circulation models and analytic formulations, accounting for the dominant dynamical feature of tidally locked planets, the planetary jet. Our formulation shows notable flexibility. It can generate planetary jets of various characteristics and redistribution efficiencies seen in the literature, including both standard eastward and unusual westward offset hotspots, as well as more exotic configurations for potential future observations. In our modeling scheme we utilize a tractable set of parameters efficient enough to enable future Bayesian analysis and, in addition to the resolved temperature structure, we return physical insights not yet derived from retrievals: the amplitude and the phase offset, and the location and the extent of the equatorial jet.