Exploring the Effects of Active Magnetic Drag in a GCM of the Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76b

Ultra-hot Jupiters represent an exciting avenue for testing extreme physics and observing atmospheric circulation regimes not found in our solar system. These high temperatures result in ionized particles moving through the atmosphere, generating magnetic fields in the planet. Previous treatments of magnetic drag in 3D GCMs of ultra-hot Jupiters have mostly been uniform drag timescales applied evenly throughout the planet. In this work, we apply our locally calculated active magnetic drag treatment in our GCM of the planet WASP-76b. We find the effects of this treatment to be most pronounced in the planet's upper atmosphere, where strong differences between the day and night side circulation are present. These circulation effects alter the resulting phase curves by reducing the hotspot offset. This work highlights the importance of considering magnetic effects when modeling ultra-hot Jupiters.