Transition Regimes of Atmospheric Flows in Hot to Ultra-Hot Jupiters using the THOR GCM

In this study, we leverage the three-dimensional capabilities of global circulation models (GCMs) to examine the atmospheric dynamics of exoplanets. Our focus is on exploring atmospheric transitions between hot and ultra-hot Jupiters, which are typically characterized by a shift from molecular to atomic hydrogen dominance in their dayside atmospheres. We utilize the THOR GCM, a non-hydrostatic dynamical core developed in a series of papers by Mendonça et al. (2016, 2018a-c), Deitrick et al. (2020, 2022), and Noti et al. (2023). Our investigation involves an analysis of the behavior of Kelvin and Rossby waves, achieved by decomposing the zonal wind patterns in the calculated steady-state solutions of a suite of GCMs. This analysis establishes a connection between the theoretical framework suggested by Showman et al. (2013) and our modeling efforts. We further discuss the influence of different radiative transfer methods on our models. Combined with our numerical setup, this allows us to construct a comprehensive picture of the modeling techniques necessary for more accurately simulating these planetary atmospheres.