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Clouds in Partial Atmospheres of Lava Planets and Where to Find Them

  • Authors: T. Giang Nguyen, Nicolas B. Cowan, Lisa Dang

T. Giang Nguyen et al 2024 The Astronomical Journal 168 .

  • Provider: AAS Journals

Caption: Figure 2.

State variables half a scale height above the surface for selected lava planets. From top to bottom, the panels show pressure, wind speed, atmospheric temperature, and surface temperature. The solutions end when the flow no longer behaves as a continuous fluid and the calculations break down; this is essentially where the horizontal mass advection reaches near 0 and the atmospheric collapse is complete. K2-141b has the thickest atmosphere, as it receives the most stellar flux and therefore has the hottest surface temperature. However, K2-141b’s atmosphere is significantly cooler than HD213885b and HD20329b, as atmospheric temperature is largely dependent on stellar UV flux. The temperature jump for 55 Cnc-e at the edge of the atmosphere can be attributed to a dynamical effect described by A. P. Ingersoll et al. (1985), where the air viscosity begins to induce significant heating at certain pressure and temperature levels; the same phenomenon can be seen in T. Castan & K. Menou (2011).

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