Evolution of Ohmically Heated Hot Jupiters

Abstract

We present calculations of thermal evolution of hot Jupiters with various masses and effective temperatures under ohmic dissipation. The resulting evolutionary sequences show a clear tendency toward inflated radii for effective temperatures that give rise to significant ionization of alkali metals in the atmosphere, compatible with the trend of the data. The degree of inflation shows that ohmic dissipation along with the likely variability in heavy element content can account for all of the currently detected radius anomalies. Furthermore, we find that in the absence of a massive core, low-mass hot Jupiters can overflow their Roche lobes and evaporate on Gyr timescales, possibly leaving behind small rocky cores.