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

Adina D. Feinstein; Michael Radica; Luis Welbanks; Catriona Anne Murray; Kazumasa Ohno; Louis-Philippe Coulombe; Néstor Espinoza; Jacob L. Bean; Johanna K. Teske; Björn Benneke; Michael R. Line; Zafar Rustamkulov; Arianna Saba; Angelos Tsiaras; Joanna K. Barstow; Jonathan J. Fortney; Peter Gao; Heather A. Knutson; Ryan J. MacDonald; Thomas Mikal-Evans; Benjamin V. Rackham; Jake Taylor; Vivien Parmentier; Natalie M. Batalha; Zachory K. Berta-Thompson; Aarynn L. Carter; Quentin Changeat; Leonardo A. Dos Santos; Neale P. Gibson; Jayesh M. Goyal; Laura Kreidberg; Mercedes López-Morales; Joshua D. Lothringer; Yamila Miguel; Karan Molaverdikhani; Sarah E. Moran; Giuseppe Morello; Sagnick Mukherjee; David K. Sing; Kevin B. Stevenson; Hannah R. Wakeford; Eva-Maria Ahrer; Munazza K. Alam; Lili Alderson; Natalie H. Allen; Natasha E. Batalha; Taylor J. Bell; Jasmina Blecic; Jonathan Brande; Claudio Caceres; S. L. Casewell; Katy L. Chubb; Ian J. M. Crossfield; Nicolas Crouzet; Patricio E. Cubillos; Leen Decin; Jean-Michel Désert; Joseph Harrington; Kevin Heng; Thomas Henning; Nicolas Iro; Eliza M. -R. Kempton; Sarah Kendrew; James Kirk; Jessica Krick; Pierre-Olivier Lagage; Monika Lendl; Luigi Mancini; Megan Mansfield; E. M. May; N. J. Mayne; Nikolay K. Nikolov; Enric Palle; Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche; Caroline Piaulet; Diana Powell; Seth Redfield; Laura K. Rogers; Michael T. Roman; Pierre-Alexis Roy; Matthew C. Nixon; Everett Schlawin; Xianyu Tan; P. Tremblin; Jake D. Turner; Olivia Venot; William C. Waalkes; Peter J. Wheatley; Xi Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1

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

Adina D. Feinstein^*, Michael Radica, Luis Welbanks, Catriona Anne Murray, Kazumasa Ohno, Louis-Philippe Coulombe, Néstor Espinoza, Jacob L. Bean, Johanna K. Teske, Björn Benneke, Michael R. Line, Zafar Rustamkulov, Arianna Saba, Angelos Tsiaras, Joanna K. Barstow, Jonathan J. Fortney, Peter Gao, Heather A. Knutson, Ryan J. MacDonald, Thomas Mikal-EvansBenjamin V. Rackham, Jake Taylor, Vivien Parmentier, Natalie M. Batalha, Zachory K. Berta-Thompson, Aarynn L. Carter, Quentin Changeat, Leonardo A. Dos Santos, Neale P. Gibson, Jayesh M. Goyal, Laura Kreidberg, Mercedes López-Morales, Joshua D. Lothringer, Yamila Miguel, Karan Molaverdikhani, Sarah E. Moran, Giuseppe Morello, Sagnick Mukherjee, David K. Sing, Kevin B. Stevenson, Hannah R. Wakeford, Eva-Maria Ahrer, Munazza K. Alam, Lili Alderson, Natalie H. Allen, Natasha E. Batalha, Taylor J. Bell, Jasmina Blecic, Jonathan Brande, Claudio Caceres, S. L. Casewell, Katy L. Chubb, Ian J. M. Crossfield, Nicolas Crouzet, Patricio E. Cubillos, Leen Decin, Jean-Michel Désert, Joseph Harrington, Kevin Heng, Thomas Henning, Nicolas Iro, Eliza M. -R. Kempton, Sarah Kendrew, James Kirk, Jessica Krick, Pierre-Olivier Lagage, Monika Lendl, Luigi Mancini, Megan Mansfield, E. M. May, N. J. Mayne, Nikolay K. Nikolov, Enric Palle, Dominique J. M. Petit dit de la Roche, Caroline Piaulet, Diana Powell, Seth Redfield, Laura K. Rogers, Michael T. Roman, Pierre-Alexis Roy, Matthew C. Nixon, Everett Schlawin, Xianyu Tan, P. Tremblin, Jake D. Turner, Olivia Venot, William C. Waalkes, Peter J. Wheatley, Xi Zhang

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Physics and Astronomy

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Abstract

The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy^1-4. However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality^5-9. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS instrument on JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6–2.8 μm in wavelength and reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy element enhancement (“metallicity”) of ~10–30x the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet’s terminator.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	670-675
Journal	Nature
Volume	614
Issue number	7949
Early online date	9 Jan 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1
Publication status	Published - 23 Feb 2023

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Copyright © 2023 the Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1.
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Feinstein, A. D., Radica, M., Welbanks, L., Murray, C. A., Ohno, K., Coulombe, L.-P., Espinoza, N., Bean, J. L., Teske, J. K., Benneke, B., Line, M. R., Rustamkulov, Z., Saba, A., Tsiaras, A., Barstow, J. K., Fortney, J. J., Gao, P., Knutson, H. A., MacDonald, R. J., ... Zhang, X. (2023). Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS. Nature, 614(7949), 670-675. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1

@article{87bb4477dee548949d04fd070ffd252c,

title = "Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS",

abstract = "The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy1-4. However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality5-9. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS instrument on JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6–2.8 μm in wavelength and reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy element enhancement (“metallicity”) of ~10–30x the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet{\textquoteright}s terminator.",

author = "Feinstein, {Adina D.} and Michael Radica and Luis Welbanks and Murray, {Catriona Anne} and Kazumasa Ohno and Louis-Philippe Coulombe and N{\'e}stor Espinoza and Bean, {Jacob L.} and Teske, {Johanna K.} and Bj{\"o}rn Benneke and Line, {Michael R.} and Zafar Rustamkulov and Arianna Saba and Angelos Tsiaras and Barstow, {Joanna K.} and Fortney, {Jonathan J.} and Peter Gao and Knutson, {Heather A.} and MacDonald, {Ryan J.} and Thomas Mikal-Evans and Rackham, {Benjamin V.} and Jake Taylor and Vivien Parmentier and Batalha, {Natalie M.} and Berta-Thompson, {Zachory K.} and Carter, {Aarynn L.} and Quentin Changeat and {Dos Santos}, {Leonardo A.} and Gibson, {Neale P.} and Goyal, {Jayesh M.} and Laura Kreidberg and Mercedes L{\'o}pez-Morales and Lothringer, {Joshua D.} and Yamila Miguel and Karan Molaverdikhani and Moran, {Sarah E.} and Giuseppe Morello and Sagnick Mukherjee and Sing, {David K.} and Stevenson, {Kevin B.} and Wakeford, {Hannah R.} and Eva-Maria Ahrer and Alam, {Munazza K.} and Lili Alderson and Allen, {Natalie H.} and Batalha, {Natasha E.} and Bell, {Taylor J.} and Jasmina Blecic and Jonathan Brande and Claudio Caceres and Casewell, {S. L.} and Chubb, {Katy L.} and Crossfield, {Ian J. M.} and Nicolas Crouzet and Cubillos, {Patricio E.} and Leen Decin and Jean-Michel D{\'e}sert and Joseph Harrington and Kevin Heng and Thomas Henning and Nicolas Iro and Kempton, {Eliza M. -R.} and Sarah Kendrew and James Kirk and Jessica Krick and Pierre-Olivier Lagage and Monika Lendl and Luigi Mancini and Megan Mansfield and May, {E. M.} and Mayne, {N. J.} and Nikolov, {Nikolay K.} and Enric Palle and {de la Roche}, {Dominique J. M. Petit dit} and Caroline Piaulet and Diana Powell and Seth Redfield and Rogers, {Laura K.} and Roman, {Michael T.} and Pierre-Alexis Roy and Nixon, {Matthew C.} and Everett Schlawin and Xianyu Tan and P. Tremblin and Turner, {Jake D.} and Olivia Venot and Waalkes, {William C.} and Wheatley, {Peter J.} and Xi Zhang",

note = "Funding: Support for this program was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute. ADF acknowledges support by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1746045. MR acknowledges support from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Fonds de Recherche du Qu{\'e}bec, as well as the Institut de Recherche sur les Exoplan{\`e}tes.",

year = "2023",

month = feb,

day = "23",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1",

language = "English",

volume = "614",

pages = "670--675",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature publishing group",

number = "7949",

}

Feinstein, AD, Radica, M, Welbanks, L, Murray, CA, Ohno, K, Coulombe, L-P, Espinoza, N, Bean, JL, Teske, JK, Benneke, B, Line, MR, Rustamkulov, Z, Saba, A, Tsiaras, A, Barstow, JK, Fortney, JJ, Gao, P, Knutson, HA, MacDonald, RJ, Mikal-Evans, T, Rackham, BV, Taylor, J, Parmentier, V, Batalha, NM, Berta-Thompson, ZK, Carter, AL, Changeat, Q, Dos Santos, LA, Gibson, NP, Goyal, JM, Kreidberg, L, López-Morales, M, Lothringer, JD, Miguel, Y, Molaverdikhani, K, Moran, SE, Morello, G, Mukherjee, S, Sing, DK, Stevenson, KB, Wakeford, HR, Ahrer, E-M, Alam, MK, Alderson, L, Allen, NH, Batalha, NE, Bell, TJ, Blecic, J, Brande, J, Caceres, C, Casewell, SL, Chubb, KL, Crossfield, IJM, Crouzet, N, Cubillos, PE, Decin, L, Désert, J-M, Harrington, J, Heng, K, Henning, T, Iro, N, Kempton, EM-R, Kendrew, S, Kirk, J, Krick, J, Lagage, P-O, Lendl, M, Mancini, L, Mansfield, M, May, EM, Mayne, NJ, Nikolov, NK, Palle, E, de la Roche, DJMPD, Piaulet, C, Powell, D, Redfield, S, Rogers, LK, Roman, MT, Roy, P-A, Nixon, MC, Schlawin, E, Tan, X, Tremblin, P, Turner, JD, Venot, O, Waalkes, WC, Wheatley, PJ & Zhang, X 2023, 'Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS', Nature, vol. 614, no. 7949, pp. 670-675. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1

TY - JOUR

T1 - Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS

AU - Feinstein, Adina D.

AU - Radica, Michael

AU - Welbanks, Luis

AU - Murray, Catriona Anne

AU - Ohno, Kazumasa

AU - Coulombe, Louis-Philippe

AU - Espinoza, Néstor

AU - Bean, Jacob L.

AU - Teske, Johanna K.

AU - Benneke, Björn

AU - Line, Michael R.

AU - Rustamkulov, Zafar

AU - Saba, Arianna

AU - Tsiaras, Angelos

AU - Barstow, Joanna K.

AU - Fortney, Jonathan J.

AU - Gao, Peter

AU - Knutson, Heather A.

AU - MacDonald, Ryan J.

AU - Mikal-Evans, Thomas

AU - Rackham, Benjamin V.

AU - Taylor, Jake

AU - Parmentier, Vivien

AU - Batalha, Natalie M.

AU - Berta-Thompson, Zachory K.

AU - Carter, Aarynn L.

AU - Changeat, Quentin

AU - Dos Santos, Leonardo A.

AU - Gibson, Neale P.

AU - Goyal, Jayesh M.

AU - Kreidberg, Laura

AU - López-Morales, Mercedes

AU - Lothringer, Joshua D.

AU - Miguel, Yamila

AU - Molaverdikhani, Karan

AU - Moran, Sarah E.

AU - Morello, Giuseppe

AU - Mukherjee, Sagnick

AU - Sing, David K.

AU - Stevenson, Kevin B.

AU - Wakeford, Hannah R.

AU - Ahrer, Eva-Maria

AU - Alam, Munazza K.

AU - Alderson, Lili

AU - Allen, Natalie H.

AU - Batalha, Natasha E.

AU - Bell, Taylor J.

AU - Blecic, Jasmina

AU - Brande, Jonathan

AU - Caceres, Claudio

AU - Casewell, S. L.

AU - Chubb, Katy L.

AU - Crossfield, Ian J. M.

AU - Crouzet, Nicolas

AU - Cubillos, Patricio E.

AU - Decin, Leen

AU - Désert, Jean-Michel

AU - Harrington, Joseph

AU - Heng, Kevin

AU - Henning, Thomas

AU - Iro, Nicolas

AU - Kempton, Eliza M. -R.

AU - Kendrew, Sarah

AU - Kirk, James

AU - Krick, Jessica

AU - Lagage, Pierre-Olivier

AU - Lendl, Monika

AU - Mancini, Luigi

AU - Mansfield, Megan

AU - May, E. M.

AU - Mayne, N. J.

AU - Nikolov, Nikolay K.

AU - Palle, Enric

AU - de la Roche, Dominique J. M. Petit dit

AU - Piaulet, Caroline

AU - Powell, Diana

AU - Redfield, Seth

AU - Rogers, Laura K.

AU - Roman, Michael T.

AU - Roy, Pierre-Alexis

AU - Nixon, Matthew C.

AU - Schlawin, Everett

AU - Tan, Xianyu

AU - Tremblin, P.

AU - Turner, Jake D.

AU - Venot, Olivia

AU - Waalkes, William C.

AU - Wheatley, Peter J.

AU - Zhang, Xi

N1 - Funding: Support for this program was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute. ADF acknowledges support by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1746045. MR acknowledges support from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec, as well as the Institut de Recherche sur les Exoplanètes.

PY - 2023/2/23

Y1 - 2023/2/23

N2 - The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy1-4. However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality5-9. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS instrument on JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6–2.8 μm in wavelength and reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy element enhancement (“metallicity”) of ~10–30x the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet’s terminator.

AB - The Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b has been the subject of extensive efforts to determine its atmospheric properties using transmission spectroscopy1-4. However, these efforts have been hampered by modelling degeneracies between composition and cloud properties that are caused by limited data quality5-9. Here, we present the transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b obtained using the SOSS mode of the NIRISS instrument on JWST. This spectrum spans 0.6–2.8 μm in wavelength and reveals multiple water absorption bands, the potassium resonance doublet, and signatures of clouds. The precision and broad wavelength coverage of NIRISS-SOSS allows us to break model degeneracies between cloud properties and the atmospheric composition of WASP-39b, favouring a heavy element enhancement (“metallicity”) of ~10–30x the solar value, a sub-solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio, and a solar-to-super-solar potassium-to-oxygen (K/O) ratio. The observations are also best explained by wavelength-dependent, non-gray clouds with inhomogeneous coverage of the planet’s terminator.

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1

DO - 10.1038/s41586-022-05674-1

M3 - Article

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 614

SP - 670

EP - 675

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7949

ER -

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

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