Due to the server upgrades and relocation, this website will undergo extensive downtime on Monday and Tuesday, May 20-21.
It will become inaccessible beginning Monday afternoon or evening, and then remain off-line until late Tuesday.

Publication Abstracts

Ackerman and Marley 2001

Ackerman, A.S., and M.S. Marley, 2001: Precipitating condensation clouds in substellar atmospheres. Astrophys. J., 556, 872-884, doi:10.1086/321540.

We present a method to calculate vertical profiles of particle size distributions in condensation clouds of giant planets and brown dwarfs. The method assumes a balance between turbulent diffusion and sedimentation in horizontally uniform cloud decks. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are compared with results from previous methods. An adjustable parameter describing the efficiency of sedimentation allows the new model to span the range of predictions made by previous models. Calculations for the Jovian ammonia cloud are consistent with observations. Example calculations are provided for water, silicate, and iron clouds on brown dwarfs and on a cool extrasolar giant planet. We find that precipitating cloud decks naturally account for the characteristic trends seen in the spectra of L- and T-type ultracool dwarfs.

  • Go to journal webpage
  • Erratum published in Astrophys. J., 556, 872 (2013), doi:10.1088/0004-637X/765/1/75.

Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]

BibTeX Citation

@article{ac09000a,
  author={Ackerman, A. S. and Marley, M. S.},
  title={Precipitating condensation clouds in substellar atmospheres},
  year={2001},
  journal={Astrophysical Journal},
  volume={556},
  pages={872--884},
  doi={10.1086/321540},
}

[ Close ]

RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - ac09000a
AU  - Ackerman, A. S.
AU  - Marley, M. S.
PY  - 2001
TI  - Precipitating condensation clouds in substellar atmospheres
JA  - Astrophys. J.
JO  - Astrophysical Journal
VL  - 556
SP  - 872
EP  - 884
DO  - 10.1086/321540
ER  -

[ Close ]

• Return to 2001 Publications

• Return to Publications Homepage