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.