On the heat redistribution of the hot transiting exoplanet WASP-18b

The energy deposition and redistribution in hot Jupiter atmospheres is not well understood currently, but is a major factor for their evolution and survival. We present a time dependent radiative transfer model for the atmosphere of WASP-18b which is a massive (10M(Jup)) hot Jupiter (T-eq similar to 2400 K) exoplanet orbiting an F6V star with an orbital period of only 0.94 days. Our model includes a simplified parametrisation of the day-to-night energy redistribution by a modulation of the stellar heating mimicking a solid body rotation of the atmosphere. We present the cases with either no rotation at all with respect to the synchronously rotating reference frame or a fast differential rotation. The results of the model are compared to previous observations of secondary eclipses of Nymeyer et al. (Nymeyer, S. et al. [2011]. Astrophys. J. 742, 35) with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Their observed planetary flux suggests that the efficiency of heat distribution from the day-side to the night-side of the planet is extremely inefficient. Our results are consistent with the fact that such large day-side fluxes can be obtained only if there is no rotation of the atmosphere. Additionally, we infer light curves of the planet for a full orbit in the two Warm Spitzer bandpassses for the two cases of rotation and discuss the observational differences. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.