Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators
Hot Jupiters are typically assumed to be synchronously rotating, from tidal locking. Their thermally driven atmospheric winds experience Lorentz drag on the planetary magnetic field anchored at depth. We find that the magnetic torque does not integrate to zero over the entire atmosphere. The resulti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ada954 |
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| author | Marek Wazny Kristen Menou |
| author_facet | Marek Wazny Kristen Menou |
| author_sort | Marek Wazny |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hot Jupiters are typically assumed to be synchronously rotating, from tidal locking. Their thermally driven atmospheric winds experience Lorentz drag on the planetary magnetic field anchored at depth. We find that the magnetic torque does not integrate to zero over the entire atmosphere. The resulting angular momentum feedback on the bulk interior can thus drive the planet away from synchronous rotation. Using a toy tidal–ohmic model and atmospheric general circulation model outputs for HD189733b, HD209458b, and Kepler7b, we establish that off-synchronous rotation can be substantial at tidal–ohmic equilibrium for sufficiently hot and/or magnetized hot Jupiters. Potential consequences of asynchronous rotation for hot Jupiter phenomenology motivate follow-up work on the tidal–ohmic scenario with approaches that go beyond our toy model. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c37fc274174f4af78d43dde5d5ef4df0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-c37fc274174f4af78d43dde5d5ef4df02025-08-20T02:25:47ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019792L3110.3847/2041-8213/ada954Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous RotatorsMarek Wazny0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7562-1798Kristen Menou1David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Department of Physics, University of Toronto , 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1A7, CanadaDavid A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4, Canada; Department of Physics, University of Toronto , 60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1A7, Canada; Physics & Astrophysics Group, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough , 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada; Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur , TOP team, Laboratoire Lagrange - CNRS, Nice, FranceHot Jupiters are typically assumed to be synchronously rotating, from tidal locking. Their thermally driven atmospheric winds experience Lorentz drag on the planetary magnetic field anchored at depth. We find that the magnetic torque does not integrate to zero over the entire atmosphere. The resulting angular momentum feedback on the bulk interior can thus drive the planet away from synchronous rotation. Using a toy tidal–ohmic model and atmospheric general circulation model outputs for HD189733b, HD209458b, and Kepler7b, we establish that off-synchronous rotation can be substantial at tidal–ohmic equilibrium for sufficiently hot and/or magnetized hot Jupiters. Potential consequences of asynchronous rotation for hot Jupiter phenomenology motivate follow-up work on the tidal–ohmic scenario with approaches that go beyond our toy model.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ada954Hot JupitersMagnetic fieldsTidal disruption |
| spellingShingle | Marek Wazny Kristen Menou Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators The Astrophysical Journal Letters Hot Jupiters Magnetic fields Tidal disruption |
| title | Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators |
| title_full | Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators |
| title_fullStr | Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators |
| title_short | Hot Jupiters Are Asynchronous Rotators |
| title_sort | hot jupiters are asynchronous rotators |
| topic | Hot Jupiters Magnetic fields Tidal disruption |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ada954 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marekwazny hotjupitersareasynchronousrotators AT kristenmenou hotjupitersareasynchronousrotators |