Are cyclones in Jupiter’s polar regions modulated by the radially directional Rayleigh–Taylor instability?

The persistence and symmetry of cyclones around the poles of Jupiter are unknown. In the present investigation, inspired by cyclones at the South Pole of the Earth, we propose a mechanism that provides an explanation for this problem. The negative temperature gradient with respect to latitude may pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth and Planetary Physics
Main Author: ChuXin Chen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Science Press 2023
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.26464/epp2023030
https://doaj.org/article/353ea1221db343d1b07e9c11da0f1a1c
Description
Summary:The persistence and symmetry of cyclones around the poles of Jupiter are unknown. In the present investigation, inspired by cyclones at the South Pole of the Earth, we propose a mechanism that provides an explanation for this problem. The negative temperature gradient with respect to latitude may play an important role here. This temperature gradient is induced by solar radiation because of the small axial inclination of Jupiter. Our numerical simulations suggest that cyclones in the polar regions of Jupiter may be modulated or controlled by the radially directional Rayleigh–Taylor instability, driven by centrifugal force and the negative temperature gradient along the latitude.