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Title: A benchmark JWST near-infrared spectrum for the exoplanet WASP-39 b
Abstract Observing exoplanets through transmission spectroscopy supplies detailed information about their atmospheric composition, physics and chemistry. Before the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations were limited to a narrow wavelength range across the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared, alongside broadband photometry at longer wavelengths. To understand more complex properties of exoplanet atmospheres, improved wavelength coverage and resolution are necessary to robustly quantify the influence of a broader range of absorbing molecular species. Here we present a combined analysis of JWST transmission spectroscopy across four different instrumental modes spanning 0.5–5.2 μm using Early Release Science observations of the Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39 b. Our uniform analysis constrains the orbital and stellar parameters within subpercentage precision, including matching the precision obtained by the most precise asteroseismology measurements of stellar density to date, and it further confirms the presence of Na, K, H2O, CO, CO2and SO2as atmospheric absorbers. Through this process, we have improved the agreement between the transmission spectra of all modes, except for the NIRSpec PRISM, which is affected by partial saturation of the detector. This work provides strong evidence that uniform light curve analysis is an important aspect to ensuring reliability when comparing the high-precision transmission spectra provided by JWST.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1945633
PAR ID:
10582949
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publisher / Repository:
Nature
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Nature Astronomy
Volume:
8
Issue:
8
ISSN:
2397-3366
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1008 to 1019
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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