Doing more with less: Teacher professional learning communities in resource-constrained primary schools in rural China.

Teacher professional learning communities provide environments in which teachers engage in regular research and collaboration. They have been found effective as a means for connecting professional learning to the day-to-day realities faced by teachers in the classroom. In this article, the authors draw on survey data collected in primary schools serving 71 villages in rural Gansu Province as well as transcripts from in-depth interviews with 30 teachers. Findings indicate that professional learning communities penetrate to some of China’s most resource-constrained schools but that their nature and development are shaped by institutional supports, principal leadership, and teachers’ own initiative

Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b

Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5 μm to 12 μm with the JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument. The spectra reveal a large day–night temperature contrast (with average brightness temperatures of 1,524 ± 35 K and 863 ± 23 K, respectively) and evidence for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional atmospheric models show that both the phase-curve shape and emission spectra strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds that become optically thick to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100 mbar. The dayside is consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere. Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside (2σ upper limit of 1–6 ppm, depending on model assumptions). Our results provide strong evidence that the atmosphere of WASP-43b is shaped by disequilibrium processes and provide new insights into the properties of the planet’s nightside clouds. However, the remaining discrepancies between our observations and our predictive atmospheric models emphasize the importance of further exploring the effects of clouds and disequilibrium chemistry in numerical models.Peer reviewe

Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b

Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5-12 μm with JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). The spectra reveal a large day-night temperature contrast (with average brightness temperatures of 1524±35 and 863±23 Kelvin, respectively) and evidence for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional atmospheric models show that both the phase curve shape and emission spectra strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds which become optically thick to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100 mbar. The dayside is consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere. Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside (2σ upper limit of 1-6 parts per million, depending on model assumptions)

Simplified 3D GCM modelling of the irradiated brown dwarf WD 0137−349B

White dwarf–brown dwarf short-period binaries (Porb ≲ 2 h) are some of the most extreme irradiated atmospheric environments known. These systems offer an opportunity to explore theoretical and modelling efforts of irradiated atmospheres different to typical hot Jupiter systems. We aim to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric structural and dynamical properties of the brown dwarf WD 0137−349B. We use the 3D global circulation model (GCM) Exo-Flexible Modelling System (FMS) with a dual-band grey radiative transfer scheme to model the atmosphere of WD 0137−349B. The results of the GCM model are post-processed using the 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model CMCRT. Our results suggest inefficient day–night energy transport and a large day–night temperature contrast for WD 0137−349B. Multiple flow patterns are present, shifting energy asymmetrically eastward or westward depending on their zonal direction and latitude. Regions of overturning are produced on the western terminator. We are able to reproduce the start of the system near-infrared (IR) emission excess at ≳1.95 μm as observed by the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) instrument. Our model overpredicts the IR phase curve fluxes by factors of ≈1–3, but generally fits the shape of the phase curves well. Chemical kinetic modelling using VULCAN suggests a highly ionized region at high altitudes can form on the dayside of the brown dwarf. We present a first attempt at simulating the atmosphere of a short-period white dwarf–brown dwarf binary in a 3D setting. Further studies into the radiative and photochemical heating from the ultraviolet irradiation are required to more accurately capture the energy balance inside the brown dwarf atmosphere. Cloud formation may also play an important role in shaping the emission spectra of the brown dwarf