Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec G395H

Lili Alderson (), Hannah R. Wakeford (), Munazza K. Alam, Natasha E. Batalha, Joshua D. Lothringer, Jea Adams Redai, Saugata Barat, Jonathan Brande, Mario Damiano, Tansu Daylan, Néstor Espinoza, Laura Flagg, Jayesh M. Goyal, David Grant, Renyu Hu, Julie Inglis, Elspeth K. H. Lee, Thomas Mikal-Evans, Lakeisha Ramos-Rosado, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Nicole L. Wallack, Natalie M. Batalha, Jacob L. Bean, Björn Benneke, Zachory K. Berta-Thompson, Aarynn L. Carter, Quentin Changeat, Knicole D. Colón, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Jean-Michel Désert, Daniel Foreman-Mackey, Neale P. Gibson, Laura Kreidberg, Michael R. Line, Mercedes López-Morales, Karan Molaverdikhani, Sarah E. Moran, Giuseppe Morello, Julianne I. Moses, Sagnick Mukherjee, Everett Schlawin, David K. Sing, Kevin B. Stevenson, Jake Taylor, Keshav Aggarwal, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Natalie H. Allen, Joanna K. Barstow, Taylor J. Bell, Jasmina Blecic, Sarah L. Casewell, Katy L. Chubb, Nicolas Crouzet, Patricio E. Cubillos, Leen Decin, Adina D. Feinstein, Joanthan J. Fortney, Joseph Harrington, Kevin Heng, Nicolas Iro, Eliza M.-R. Kempton, James Kirk, Heather A. Knutson, Jessica Krick, Jérémy Leconte, Monika Lendl, Ryan J. MacDonald, Luigi Mancini, Megan Mansfield, Erin M. May, Nathan J. Mayne, Yamila Miguel, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Kazumasa Ohno, Enric Palle, Vivien Parmentier, Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche, Caroline Piaulet, Diana Powell, Benjamin V. Rackham, Seth Redfield, Laura K. Rogers, Zafar Rustamkulov, Xianyu Tan, P. Tremblin, Shang-Min Tsai, Jake D. Turner, Miguel Val-Borro, Olivia Venot, Luis Welbanks, Peter J. Wheatley and Xi Zhang
Additional contact information
Lili Alderson: University of Bristol
Hannah R. Wakeford: University of Bristol
Munazza K. Alam: Carnegie Institution for Science
Natasha E. Batalha: NASA Ames Research Center
Joshua D. Lothringer: Utah Valley University
Jea Adams Redai: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Saugata Barat: University of Amsterdam
Jonathan Brande: University of Kansas
Mario Damiano: California Institute of Technology
Tansu Daylan: Princeton University
Néstor Espinoza: Space Telescope Science Institute
Laura Flagg: Cornell University
Jayesh M. Goyal: National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI)
David Grant: University of Bristol
Renyu Hu: California Institute of Technology
Julie Inglis: California Institute of Technology
Elspeth K. H. Lee: University of Bern
Thomas Mikal-Evans: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Lakeisha Ramos-Rosado: Johns Hopkins University
Pierre-Alexis Roy: Université de Montréal
Nicole L. Wallack: Carnegie Institution for Science
Natalie M. Batalha: University of California, Santa Cruz
Jacob L. Bean: University of Chicago
Björn Benneke: Université de Montréal
Zachory K. Berta-Thompson: University of Colorado
Aarynn L. Carter: University of California, Santa Cruz
Quentin Changeat: Space Telescope Science Institute
Knicole D. Colón: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Ian J. M. Crossfield: University of Kansas
Jean-Michel Désert: University of Amsterdam
Daniel Foreman-Mackey: Flatiron Institute
Neale P. Gibson: Trinity College Dublin
Laura Kreidberg: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Michael R. Line: Arizona State University
Mercedes López-Morales: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Karan Molaverdikhani: University Observatory Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Sarah E. Moran: University of Arizona
Giuseppe Morello: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)
Julianne I. Moses: Space Science Institute
Sagnick Mukherjee: University of California, Santa Cruz
Everett Schlawin: University of Arizona
David K. Sing: Johns Hopkins University
Kevin B. Stevenson: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Jake Taylor: Université de Montréal
Keshav Aggarwal: Indian Institute of Technology Indore
Eva-Maria Ahrer: University of Warwick
Natalie H. Allen: Johns Hopkins University
Joanna K. Barstow: The Open University
Taylor J. Bell: NASA Ames Research Center
Jasmina Blecic: New York University Abu Dhabi
Sarah L. Casewell: University of Leicester
Katy L. Chubb: University of St Andrews
Nicolas Crouzet: University of Leiden
Patricio E. Cubillos: INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Leen Decin: KU Leuven
Adina D. Feinstein: University of Chicago
Joanthan J. Fortney: University of California, Santa Cruz
Joseph Harrington: University of Central Florida
Kevin Heng: University of Warwick
Nicolas Iro: University of Vienna
Eliza M.-R. Kempton: University of Maryland
James Kirk: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Heather A. Knutson: California Institute of Technology
Jessica Krick: California Institute of Technology
Jérémy Leconte: Université de Bordeaux
Monika Lendl: Université de Genève Sauverny
Ryan J. MacDonald: Cornell University
Luigi Mancini: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Megan Mansfield: University of Arizona
Erin M. May: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Nathan J. Mayne: University of Exeter
Yamila Miguel: University of Leiden
Nikolay K. Nikolov: Space Telescope Science Institute
Kazumasa Ohno: University of California, Santa Cruz
Enric Palle: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)
Vivien Parmentier: University of Oxford
Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche: Université de Genève Sauverny
Caroline Piaulet: Université de Montréal
Diana Powell: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Benjamin V. Rackham: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Seth Redfield: Wesleyan University
Laura K. Rogers: University of Cambridge
Zafar Rustamkulov: Johns Hopkins University
Xianyu Tan: University of Oxford
P. Tremblin: Maison de la Simulation, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Versailles St Quentin, Université Paris-Saclay
Shang-Min Tsai: University of Oxford
Jake D. Turner: Cornell University
Miguel Val-Borro: Planetary Science Institute
Olivia Venot: Université de Paris Cité and Université Paris-Est Creteil, CNRS, LISA
Luis Welbanks: Arizona State University
Peter J. Wheatley: University of Warwick
Xi Zhang: University of California, Santa Cruz

Nature, 2023, vol. 614, issue 7949, 664-669

Abstract: Abstract Measuring the abundances of carbon and oxygen in exoplanet atmospheres is considered a crucial avenue for unlocking the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems1,2. Access to the chemical inventory of an exoplanet requires high-precision observations, often inferred from individual molecular detections with low-resolution space-based3–5 and high-resolution ground-based6–8 facilities. Here we report the medium-resolution (R ≈ 600) transmission spectrum of an exoplanet atmosphere between 3 and 5 μm covering several absorption features for the Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b (ref. 9), obtained with the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) G395H grating of JWST. Our observations achieve 1.46 times photon precision, providing an average transit depth uncertainty of 221 ppm per spectroscopic bin, and present minimal impacts from systematic effects. We detect significant absorption from CO2 (28.5σ) and H2O (21.5σ), and identify SO2 as the source of absorption at 4.1 μm (4.8σ). Best-fit atmospheric models range between 3 and 10 times solar metallicity, with sub-solar to solar C/O ratios. These results, including the detection of SO2, underscore the importance of characterizing the chemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and showcase NIRSpec G395H as an excellent mode for time-series observations over this critical wavelength range10.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05591-3

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