Flow Regimes in Hot Jupiter Atmospheres: Insights from Anelastic Models

Abstract Hot Jupiters are Jupiter-sized exoplanets with close-in orbits, characterized by extreme day–night temperature contrasts due to synchronous rotation. These planets offer unique observational opportunities through transit photometry, transmission spectroscopy, and infrared (IR) phase curve analysis, which reveal information about heat redistribution and atmospheric dynamics. Complementary to common generalized circulation models (GCMs), we introduce a more comprehensive approach using the anelastic fluid equations that fully capture the 3D nature of the emerging nonlinear flows. We identify various nonlinear flow regimes and analyze the heat distribution when irradiation and thermal advection reach equilibrium. Eastward zonal winds can reach velocities comparable to the planetary rotation (up to several kilometers per second), while slower radial flows, though less prominent, contribute significantly to heat advection and can cause both eastward and westward hotspot shifts. The efficiency of day-to-night heat redistribution and the positioning of brightness maxima are shown to depend strongly on pressure and the interplay of advective and radiative processes. These findings improve our understanding of the diversity observed in the IR phase curves and suggest a nonmagnetic mechanism for retrograde hotspot shifts. By extending the scope of traditional GCM models, our work demonstrates the usefulness of anelastic models in capturing the complex, multidimensional dynamics of irradiated exoplanetary atmospheres.