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Abstract The recent inference of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere of the hot (approximately 1,100 K), Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from near-infrared JWST observations1–3suggests that photochemistry is a key process in high-temperature exoplanet atmospheres4. This is because of the low (<1 ppb) abundance of SO2under thermochemical equilibrium compared with that produced from the photochemistry of H2O and H2S (1–10 ppm)4–9. However, the SO2inference was made from a single, small molecular feature in the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b at 4.05 μm and, therefore, the detection of other SO2absorption bands at different wavelengths is needed to better constrain the SO2abundance. Here we report the detection of SO2spectral features at 7.7 and 8.5 μm in the 5–12-μm transmission spectrum of WASP-39b measured by the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS)10. Our observations suggest an abundance of SO2of 0.5–25 ppm (1σrange), consistent with previous findings4. As well as SO2, we find broad water-vapour absorption features, as well as an unexplained decrease in the transit depth at wavelengths longer than 10 μm. Fitting the spectrum with a grid of atmospheric forward models, we derive an atmospheric heavy-element content (metallicity) for WASP-39b of approximately 7.1–8.0 times solar and demonstrate that photochemistry shapes the spectra of WASP-39b across a broad wavelength range.
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Obsidian hydration dating by infrared transmission spectroscopy
Abstract The obsidian dating method converts the quantity of diffused molecular water within a near‐surface hydration layer to elapsed time using an experimentally derived diffusion coefficient predicted from the structural water content of the glass. Infrared spectroscopic transmission measurements on transparent archaeological samples record vibrational responses of water bands in the near‐infrared region, permitting determination of structural water content (OH), and the amount of diffused ambient water (H2O). In this application, the H2O water band at 5200 cm−1is measured directly. The accuracy of the approach is assessed by an evaluation of the precision of each contributing variable. The new protocol is evaluated using obsidian artifacts from radiocarbon‐dated deposits at Salamanca Cave in Argentina.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2208558
- PAR ID:
- 10555188
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Archaeometry
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0003-813X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 949-966
- Size(s):
- p. 949-966
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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