Hydrodynamical modelling of tidal dissipation in gas giant planets at the time of space missions

TL;DR

This paper develops hydrodynamical models of tidal wave dissipation in gas giant planets, integrating recent interior data from space missions to better understand their orbital and rotational evolution.

Contribution

It introduces the first 2D hydrodynamical simulations of tidal wave dissipation in Jupiter using advanced interior models, considering multiple diffusion processes.

Findings

Tidal dissipation varies significantly with planetary interior structure.

Dissipation efficiency depends on viscous, thermal, and chemical diffusion parameters.

Results help explain observed differences in tidal effects between Solar System and exoplanet gas giants.

Abstract

Gas giant planets are differentially rotating magnetic objects that have strong and complex interactions with their environment. In our Solar system, they interact with their numerous moons while exoplanets with very short orbital periods (hot Jupiters), interact with their host star. The dissipation of waves excited by tidal forces in their interiors shapes the orbital architecture and the rotational dynamics of these systems. Recently, astrometric observations of Jupiter and Saturn systems have challenged our understanding of their formation and evolution, with stronger tidal dissipation in these planets than previously predicted, in contrast to what appears to be weaker in gas giant exoplanets. These new constraints are motivating the development of realistic models of tidal dissipation inside these planets. At the same time, the Juno and Cassini space missions have revolutionised our knowledge of the interiors of Jupiter and Saturn, whose structure is a combination of stably stratified zones and convective regions. In this work, we present results of hydrodynamical calculations modelling tidal waves and their dissipation in Jupiter, taking for the first time the latest, state-of-the-art interior model of the planet. We performed 2D numerical simulations of linear tidal gravito-inertial waves that propagate and dissipate within Jupiter interior by taking into account viscous, thermal and chemical diffusions. This new model allows us to explore the properties of the dissipation and the associated tidal torque as a function of all the key hydrodynamical and structural parameters.