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Figure 1: Vertical structure of the atmosphere of HD 259458b as a function of the temperature of the upper atmosphere (Model A). At the top of the thermosphere, the exobase is the critical level where the mean free path is equal to the distance to the Roche lobe. For high temperatures, the exobase reaches the Roche lobe; this leads to a geometrical blow-off. |
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Figure 2:
Shape of the exobase and
the corresponding escape rate (Model A,
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Figure 3:
Escape flux and life time of HD 209458b
as a function of
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Figure 4:
Upper atmosphere temperature estimated from the energy balance
as a function of the orbital distance of a 0.69
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Figure 5:
Contour plot of the planet life time (
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