Unveiling the Cloudy Dynamics in Hydrogen-dominated Atmospheres from Giant Planets to Brown Dwarfs

由加州大学圣克鲁斯分校领导的一个研究小组将探索云及其对巨行星和褐矮星大气层的影响。该项目将模拟太阳系四颗巨行星以及围绕遥远恒星运行的褐矮星和巨型植物上的云动力学。该计划的目标是了解温度，化学混合和斑块从冷到热氢主导的行星大气的物理学。大气模型将对科学界开放。这项工作将刺激太阳系和银河系科学家之间的跨学科活动。这项研究中模拟的巨行星和褐矮星上的云和风暴将增强目前的研究生和本科生课程。云为解释行星观测提供了最大的挑战之一。这里提供的解决方案可以帮助解决一些长期存在的问题。以前被忽视的对流抑制效应可能是理解巨行星和褐矮星如何工作的重要机制。该计划将以自洽和系统的方式探索100 K至2000 K的巨行星和棕矮星上的云形成和云动力学。该项目将模拟四个太阳系巨行星上的云动力学，包括CH4，H2S，NH3，[NH4]SH和H2O云，以及大气金属丰度的依赖性，研究云对温度和垂直混合的作用。该团队还将模拟直接成像的系外行星和褐矮星上的云动力学及其对詹姆斯韦伯太空望远镜收集的数据的影响。更好地描述动力学和示踪剂运输将限制大气深处重宇宙元素的丰度，这对限制行星和棕矮星的形成和演化至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

A team led by the University of California-Santa Cruz will explore clouds and their impacts upon atmospheres of giant planets and brown dwarfs. The project will simulate the cloudy dynamics on the four Solar System giant planets as well as brown dwarfs and giant plants orbiting distant stars. The program will aim to understand the physics of temperature, chemical mixing, and patchiness from cold to hot hydrogen-dominated planet atmospheres. Atmosphere models will be open source for the science community. This work will stimulate cross-disciplinary activity between Solar System and galactic scientists. The simulated clouds and storms on giant planets and brown dwarfs from this research will enhance current graduate and undergraduate classes.Clouds provide one of the biggest challenges for interpreting observations of planets. The solution provided here can help solve some long-standing questions. Previously neglected convective inhibition effects could be an essential mechanism for understanding how giant planets and brown dwarf works. This program will explore cloud formation and cloud dynamics on giant planets and brown dwarfs from 100 K to 2000 K in a self-consistent and systematic fashion. The project will simulate the cloudy dynamics on four Solar System giant planets, including CH4, H2S, NH3, [NH4]SH, and H2O clouds, and the dependence of the atmospheric metallicity, investigating the role of clouds on temperature and vertical mixing. The team will also simulate the cloudy dynamics on directly imaged exoplanets and brown dwarfs and their impact upon data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope. A better characterization of dynamics and tracer transport will constrain the abundance of heavy cosmic elements deep within atmospheres, which are crucial to constrain the formation and evolution of the planets and brown dwarfs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.