Modelling the Circulation of Hot exoplanet Atmospheres (MOCHA): exhaustive comparison of 3D models for hot Jupiters
- 1German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany (iro.exoplanets@gmail.com)
- 2NASA GSFC Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration, USA
- 3NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
- 4American University, College of Arts and Science, Washington, DC, 20016 USA
- 5Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- 6Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- 7LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 5 place Jules Janssen, 921956 Meudon, France
- 8Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, IPSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université PSL, Ecole8 Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, 75005 Paris, France
With the first exoplanet JWST and Cheops data available, and ARIEL in the near future, we are expecting to get a lot of time-varying measurements of exoplanets (e.g. phase curves and 3D eclipse maps), giving us unprecedented information about their climate. Hot Jupiters will be the best targets for atmosphere characterisation with these facilities.
3D atmospheric circulation models are the main tools to interpret theoretically these upcoming observations, however, it is overwhelming to compare the numerous models developed independently with each various assumptions and setup. Some characteristics of their outputs are then dependent on the model used, impairing physical interpretation. It is therefore necessary to assess the differences, limits and applicability of each models in a controlled manner.
We present MOCHA (Modelling the Circulation of Hot exoplanet Atmospheres), the most extensive intercomparision of hot Jupiter 3D circulation models. Our team is built from the experts developing all available codes, in order to set up a common benchmark methodology.
Our intercomparison project will provide the exoplanet community with protocols and methods to benchmark current and future 3D models. This will lead to better and more robust tools to retrieve physical information from JWST, Cheops, and later ARIEL data.
This project is part of CUISINES (Climates Using Interactive Suites of Intercomparisons Nested for Exoplanet Studies), which has already provided Model Intercomparisons Projects (MIPS) such as THAI for the TRAPPIST planets and CAMEMBERT for mini Neptunes.
How to cite: Iro, N., Fauchez, T., Komacek, T., Rauscher, E., and Teinturier, L.: Modelling the Circulation of Hot exoplanet Atmospheres (MOCHA): exhaustive comparison of 3D models for hot Jupiters, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-18914, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-18914, 2024.
