Dietrich, Wieland
Referent der Institutsleitung
Forschungsinteressen
I am a theoretical physicist with 15+ years of experience in planetary science and exoplanet research, focusing on the dynamics of terrestrial and giant planets. My work covers the generation of planetary magnetic fields through dynamo processes, as well as the small- and large-scale flows that arise in the liquid cores of terrestrial planets and in the atmospheres of ice and gas giants.
A particular focus of my research is the relationship between satellite observations and the underlying interior processes that produce observable phenomena such as zonal flows and magnetic fields. More recently, my research has expanded to exoplanets, especially the atmospheric dynamics of hot Jupiters—a fascinating class of strongly irradiated giant planets orbiting close to their host stars.
Vita
Education and Employment:
Since 2022: research coordinator at the MPS
2020-2023: scientist at the MPS
2016-2019: postdoctoral researcher at the MPS
2013-2016: postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, UK
2012-2013: wrap up Postdoc at the MPS
2009-2012: PhD in physics, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS)
Selected Publications:
Dietrich W., Wicht J. (2025) Flow Regimes in Hot Jupiter Atmospheres: Insights from Anelastic Models. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 995, Issue 1, id.84, 18 pp.
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae168c
Dietrich W., Kumar S., Poser A. J., French M., Nettelmann N., Redmer R., Wicht J. (2022) Magnetic induction processes in hot Jupiters, application to KELT-9b. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 517, Issue 3, pp.3113-3125.
doi:10.1093/mnras/stac2849
Dietrich W., Jones C.A. (2018) Anelastic spherical dynamos with radially variable electrical conductivity. Icarus, Volume 305, p. 15-32.
doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.01.003
Dietrich W., Wicht J. (2018) Penetrative Convection in Partly Stratified Rapidly Rotating Spherical Shells. Frontiers in Earth Science.
doi:10.3389/feart.2018.00189
Dietrich W., Wicht J. (2013) A hemispherical dynamo model: Implications for the Martian Crustal Magnetization. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Volume 217, p. 10-21.
doi10.1016/j.pepi.2013.01.001