On the Absorption and Redistribution of Energy in Irradiated Planets

We present a sequence of toy models for irradiated planet atmospheres, in which the effects of geometry and energy redistribution are modeled self-consistently. We use separate but coupled gray atmosphere models to treat the ingoing stellar irradiation and outgoing planetary reradiation. We investigate how observed quantities such as full phase secondary eclipses and orbital phase curves depend on various important parameters, such as the depth at which irradiation is absorbed, the depth at which energy is redistributed, and the eccentricity of the orbit. We also compare our results to the more detailed radiative transfer models in the literature in order to understand how those map onto the toy model parameter space. Such an approach can prove complementary to more detailed calculations, in that they demonstrate, in a simple way, how the solutions change depending on where, and how, energy redistribution occurs. As an example of the value of such models, we demonstrate how energy redistribution and temperature equilibration at moderate optical depths can lead to temperature inversions in the planetary atmosphere, which is of some relevance to recent observational findings.