Atmospheric Circulation of Hot Jupiters: Insensitivity to Initial Conditions

The ongoing characterization of hot Jupiters has motivated a variety of circulation models of their atmospheres. Such models must be integrated starting from an assumed initial state, which is typically taken to be a wind-free, rest state. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of hot-Jupiter atmospheric circulation models to initial conditions. We consider two classes of models—shallow-water models, which have proven successful at illuminating the dynamical mechanisms at play on these planets, and full three-dimensional models similar to those being explored in the literature. Models are initialized with zonal jets, and we explore a variety of different initial jet profiles. We demonstrate that, in both classes of models, the final, equilibrated state is independent of initial condition. Otherwise identical models initialized with vastly different initial conditions all converge to the same statistical steady state. In some cases, the models exhibit modest time variability; this variability results in random fluctuations about the statistical steady state, but we emphasize that, even in these cases, the statistical steady state itself does not depend on initial conditions. Although the outcome of hot-Jupiter circulation models depend on details of the radiative forcing and frictional drag, aspects of which remain uncertain, we conclude that the specification of initial conditions is not a source of uncertainty, at least over the parameter range explored in most current models. Subject headings: hydrodynamics – methods: numerical – planets and satellites: atmospheres – planets and satellites: individual (HD 189733b, HD 209458b)