arXiv subjects

J. Aubert

Publications and source records attributed to J. Aubert.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

HD 148797: A bright F-type star with two moderate-period low-density sub-Jovian planets. Compact multi-planet architectures are common in the Neptunian savanna

We report the confirmation and characterisation of two moderate-period sub-Jovian planets transiting the bright F-type star HD 148797 (G=9.4 mag, Teff=6441 +/- 51 K). Using photometric time series from TESS and CHEOPS, we determine orbital periods of 42.1 d for HD 148797 b and 68.2 d for HD 148797 c, putting the period ratio very close to the golden mean at 1.619 and therefore near several strong harmonics, and measure planetary radii of 8.25 +/- 0.37 RE and 8.37 +/- 0.38 RE, respectively. We detect significant anti-correlated transit-timing variations for both planets, which contain enough harmonic information to yield photodynamical masses of 39.3 +13 -8.5 ME for HD 148797 b and 39.6 +/- 9.3 ME for HD 148797 c. The corresponding bulk densities, 0.39 +/- 0.12 and 0.377 +/- 0.084 g/cm3, place both planets among the low-density sub-Jovians of the Neptunian savanna. The architecture of HD 148797 is not unusual within this regime: we find that detected multi-system fractions in the savanna remain at ~70-90%, and that most savanna multi-planet systems contain at least one adjacent planet pair with Pout/Pin < 3. This pattern suggests that savanna sub-Jovians are commonly found in dynamically cold systems, consistent with smoother migration pathways such as disk-driven migration rather than disruptive high-eccentricity tidal migration. As a bright, co-evolved system hosting two warm savanna sub-Jovians with similar radii and masses, HD 148797 is also a promising target for comparative atmospheric characterisation.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2019

Approaching Earth's core conditions in high-resolution geodynamo simulations

The geodynamo features a broad separation between the large scale at which Earth's magnetic field is sustained against ohmic dissipation and the small scales of the turbulent and electrically conducting underlying fluid flow in the outer core. Here, the properties of this scale separation are analysed using high-resolution numerical simulations that approach closer to Earth's core conditions than earlier models. The new simulations are obtained by increasing the resolution and gradually relaxing the hyperdiffusive approximation of previously published low-resolution cases. This upsizing process does not perturb the previously obtained large-scale, leading-order quasi-geostrophic (QG), and first-order magneto-Archimedes-Coriolis (MAC) force balances. As Earth's core conditions are approached in the upsized simulations, kinetic energy spectra feature a gradually broadening self-similar, power-law spectral range extending over more than a decade in length scale. In this range, the spectral energy density profile of vorticity is shown to be approximately flat between the large scale at which the magnetic field draws its energy from convection through the QG-MAC force balance and the small scale at which this energy is dissipated. The resulting velocity and density anomaly planforms in the physical space consist in large-scale columnar sheets and plumes, respectively co-existing with small-scale vorticity filaments and density anomaly ramifications. In contrast, magnetic field planforms keep their large-scale structure after upsizing. The diagnostic outputs of the upsized simulations are more consistent with the asymptotic QG-MAC theory than those of the low-resolution cases that they originate from, but still feature small residual deviations that may call for further theoretical refinements to account for the structuring constraints of the magnetic field on the flow.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2019

Force balance in numerical geodynamo simulations: a systematic study

Dynamo action in the Earth's outer core is expected to be controlled by a balance between pressure, Coriolis, buoyancy and Lorentz forces, with marginal contributions from inertia and viscous forces. Current numerical simulations of the geodynamo, however, operate at much larger inertia and viscosity because of computational limitations. This casts some doubt on the physical relevance of these models. Our work aims at finding dynamo models in a moderate computational regime which reproduce the leading-order force balance of the Earth. By performing a systematic parameter space survey with Ekman numbers in the range $10^{-6} \leq E \leq 10^{-4}$, we study the variations of the force balance when changing the forcing (Rayleigh number, $Ra$) and the ratio between viscous and magnetic diffusivities (magnetic Prandtl number, $Pm$). For dipole-dominated dynamos, we observe that the force balance is structurally robust throughout the investigated parameter space, exhibiting a quasi-geostrophic (QG) balance (balance between Coriolis and pressure forces) at zeroth order, followed by a first-order MAC balance between the ageostrophic Coriolis, buoyancy and Lorentz forces. At second order this balance is disturbed by contributions from inertia and viscous forces. Dynamos with a different sequence of the forces, where inertia and/or viscosity replace the Lorentz force in the first-order force balance, can only be found close to the onset of dynamo action and in the multipolar regime. Our study illustrates that most classical numerical dynamos are controlled by a QG-MAC balance, while cases where viscosity and inertia play a dominant role are the exception rather than the norm.

physics.geo-ph↗

arXiv2016

Scaling regimes in spherical shell rotating convection

Rayleigh-Bénard convection in rotating spherical shells can be considered as a simplified analogue of many astrophysical and geophysical fluid flows. Here, we use three-dimensional direct numerical simulations to study this physical process. We construct a dataset of more than 200 numerical models that cover a broad parameter range with Ekman numbers spanning $3\times 10^{-7} \leq E \leq 10^{-1}$, Rayleigh numbers within the range $10^3 < Ra < 2\times 10^{10}$ and a Prandtl number unity. We investigate the scaling behaviours of both local (length scales, boundary layers) and global (Nusselt and Reynolds numbers) properties across various physical regimes from onset of rotating convection to weakly-rotating convection. Close to critical, the convective flow is dominated by a triple force balance between viscosity, Coriolis force and buoyancy. For larger supercriticalities, a subset of our numerical data approaches the asymptotic diffusivity-free scaling of rotating convection $Nu\sim Ra^{3/2}E^{2}$ in a narrow fraction of the parameter space delimited by $6\,Ra_c \leq Ra \leq 0.4\,E^{-8/5}$. Using a decomposition of the viscous dissipation rate into bulk and boundary layer contributions, we establish a theoretical scaling of the flow velocity that accurately describes the numerical data. In rapidly-rotating turbulent convection, the fluid bulk is controlled by a triple force balance between Coriolis, inertia and buoyancy, while the remaining fraction of the dissipation can be attributed to the viscous friction in the Ekman layers. Beyond $Ra \simeq E^{-8/5}$, the rotational constraint on the convective flow is gradually lost and the flow properties vary to match the regime changes between rotation-dominated and non-rotating convection. The quantity $Ra E^{12/7}$ provides an accurate transition parameter to separate rotating and non-rotating convection.

physics.flu-dyn↗