Atmospheric Gas Loss in Hot Jupiters Under Variable Stellar Irradiation

Student: Aly Nida

Major: Astrophysics

Mentors: Dr. Ana Uribe and Dr. Joseph Carson

Department: Physics and Astronomy; Physics and Astronomy

Atmospheric Gas Loss in Hot Jupiters Under Variable Stellar Irradiation

Understanding how the atmospheres of planets change in response to the activity of their host stars is a crucial component of planetary science. Continual research and practical experimentation into this area is therefore critical, so as to expand upon existing knowledge in this field. To begin gaining a better understanding of these processes, hydrodynamic simulations of hot Jupiter type exoplanets orbiting sun-like stars were performed, with the luminosity of said planet's host star varying with each simulation. The overall goal was to investigate the relationship between the mass flux rate of the planet's atmosphere and the luminosity of the host star.