|
1
|
Rustamkulov Z, Sing DK, Mukherjee S, May EM, Kirk J, Schlawin E, Line MR, Piaulet C, Carter AL, Batalha NE, Goyal JM, López-Morales M, Lothringer JD, MacDonald RJ, Moran SE, Stevenson KB, Wakeford HR, Espinoza N, Bean JL, Batalha NM, Benneke B, Berta-Thompson ZK, Crossfield IJM, Gao P, Kreidberg L, Powell DK, Cubillos PE, Gibson NP, Leconte J, Molaverdikhani K, Nikolov NK, Parmentier V, Roy P, Taylor J, Turner JD, Wheatley PJ, Aggarwal K, Ahrer E, Alam MK, Alderson L, Allen NH, Banerjee A, Barat S, Barrado D, Barstow JK, Bell TJ, Blecic J, Brande J, Casewell S, Changeat Q, Chubb KL, Crouzet N, Daylan T, Decin L, Désert J, Mikal-Evans T, Feinstein AD, Flagg L, Fortney JJ, Harrington J, Heng K, Hong Y, Hu R, Iro N, Kataria T, Kempton EMR, Krick J, Lendl M, Lillo-Box J, Louca A, Lustig-Yaeger J, Mancini L, Mansfield M, Mayne NJ, Miguel Y, Morello G, Ohno K, Palle E, Petit Dit de la Roche DJM, Rackham BV, Radica M, Ramos-Rosado L, Redfield S, Rogers LK, Shkolnik EL, Southworth J, Teske J, Tremblin P, Tucker GS, Venot O, Waalkes WC, Welbanks L, Zhang X, Zieba S. Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec PRISM. Nature 2023; 614:659-663. [PMID: 36623548 PMCID: PMC9946832 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05677-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Transmission spectroscopy1-3 of exoplanets has revealed signatures of water vapour, aerosols and alkali metals in a few dozen exoplanet atmospheres4,5. However, these previous inferences with the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes were hindered by the observations' relatively narrow wavelength range and spectral resolving power, which precluded the unambiguous identification of other chemical species-in particular the primary carbon-bearing molecules6,7. Here we report a broad-wavelength 0.5-5.5 µm atmospheric transmission spectrum of WASP-39b8, a 1,200 K, roughly Saturn-mass, Jupiter-radius exoplanet, measured with the JWST NIRSpec's PRISM mode9 as part of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Team Program10-12. We robustly detect several chemical species at high significance, including Na (19σ), H2O (33σ), CO2 (28σ) and CO (7σ). The non-detection of CH4, combined with a strong CO2 feature, favours atmospheric models with a super-solar atmospheric metallicity. An unanticipated absorption feature at 4 µm is best explained by SO2 (2.7σ), which could be a tracer of atmospheric photochemistry. These observations demonstrate JWST's sensitivity to a rich diversity of exoplanet compositions and chemical processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Z Rustamkulov
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - D K Sing
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - S Mukherjee
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - E M May
- Johns Hopkins APL, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - J Kirk
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - E Schlawin
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - M R Line
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - C Piaulet
- Institute of Research on Exoplanets, Department of Physics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - A L Carter
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - N E Batalha
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
| | - J M Goyal
- School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), HBNI, Jatani, India
| | - M López-Morales
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - J D Lothringer
- Department of Physics, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA
| | - R J MacDonald
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - S E Moran
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - H R Wakeford
- School of Physics, University of Bristol, HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Bristol, UK
| | - N Espinoza
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J L Bean
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - N M Batalha
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - B Benneke
- Institute of Research on Exoplanets, Department of Physics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Z K Berta-Thompson
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - I J M Crossfield
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - P Gao
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
| | - L Kreidberg
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - D K Powell
- Harvard and Smithsonian, Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - P E Cubillos
- INAF - Astrophysics Observatory at Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - N P Gibson
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - J Leconte
- Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - K Molaverdikhani
- University Observatory Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
- Exzellenzcluster Origins, Garching, Germany
| | - N K Nikolov
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - V Parmentier
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P Roy
- Institute of Research on Exoplanets, Department of Physics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - J Taylor
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - J D Turner
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - P J Wheatley
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - K Aggarwal
- Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Indore, India
| | - E Ahrer
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - M K Alam
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
| | - L Alderson
- School of Physics, University of Bristol, HH Wills Physics Laboratory, Bristol, UK
| | - N H Allen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - A Banerjee
- School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - S Barat
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - D Barrado
- Centre for Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA), European Space Astronomy Centre Campus, University of Maria de Maeztu, Madrid, Spain
| | - J K Barstow
- School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - T J Bell
- BAER Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Mountain View, CA, USA
| | - J Blecic
- New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Center for Astro, Particle and Planetary Physics (CAP3), New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - J Brande
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - S Casewell
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Q Changeat
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- European Space Agency (ESA), ESA Baltimore Office, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, UK
| | - K L Chubb
- Centre for Exoplanet Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - N Crouzet
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - T Daylan
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - L Decin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - J Désert
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - T Mikal-Evans
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - A D Feinstein
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - L Flagg
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - J J Fortney
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - J Harrington
- Planetary Science Group, Department of Physics and Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - K Heng
- University Observatory Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
| | - Y Hong
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - R Hu
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - N Iro
- Institute for Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - T Kataria
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - E M-R Kempton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - J Krick
- California Institute of Technology, IPAC, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - M Lendl
- Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - J Lillo-Box
- Centre for Astrobiology (CSIC-INTA), European Space Astronomy Centre Campus, University of Maria de Maeztu, Madrid, Spain
| | - A Louca
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - L Mancini
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
- INAF - Astrophysics Observatory at Turin, Turin, Italy
- Department of Physics, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata', Rome, Italy
| | - M Mansfield
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - N J Mayne
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Y Miguel
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - G Morello
- Institute for Astrophysics of Canarias (IAC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- Department of Astrophysics, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- INAF Äì Palermo Astronomical Observatory, Palermo, Italy
| | - K Ohno
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - E Palle
- Institute for Astrophysics of Canarias (IAC), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | | | - B V Rackham
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - M Radica
- Institute of Research on Exoplanets, Department of Physics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - L Ramos-Rosado
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - S Redfield
- Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
| | - L K Rogers
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - E L Shkolnik
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - J Southworth
- Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK
| | - J Teske
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
| | - P Tremblin
- UVSQ, CNRS, CEA, Maison de la Simulation, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - G S Tucker
- Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - O Venot
- Université de Paris Cité and Univ Paris Est Creteil, CNRS, LISA, Paris, France
| | - W C Waalkes
- Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - L Welbanks
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - X Zhang
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - S Zieba
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|