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Ahrer EM, Stevenson KB, Mansfield M, Moran SE, Brande J, Morello G, Murray CA, Nikolov NK, Petit Dit de la Roche DJM, Schlawin E, Wheatley PJ, Zieba S, Batalha NE, Damiano M, Goyal JM, Lendl M, Lothringer JD, Mukherjee S, Ohno K, Batalha NM, Battley MP, Bean JL, Beatty TG, Benneke B, Berta-Thompson ZK, Carter AL, Cubillos PE, Daylan T, Espinoza N, Gao P, Gibson NP, Gill S, Harrington J, Hu R, Kreidberg L, Lewis NK, Line MR, López-Morales M, Parmentier V, Powell DK, Sing DK, Tsai SM, Wakeford HR, Welbanks L, Alam MK, Alderson L, Allen NH, Anderson DR, Barstow JK, Bayliss D, Bell TJ, Blecic J, Bryant EM, Burleigh MR, Carone L, Casewell SL, Changeat Q, Chubb KL, Crossfield IJM, Crouzet N, Decin L, Désert JM, Feinstein AD, Flagg L, Fortney JJ, Gizis JE, Heng K, Iro N, Kempton EMR, Kendrew S, Kirk J, Knutson HA, Komacek TD, Lagage PO, Leconte J, Lustig-Yaeger J, MacDonald RJ, Mancini L, May EM, Mayne NJ, Miguel Y, Mikal-Evans T, Molaverdikhani K, Palle E, Piaulet C, Rackham BV, Redfield S, Rogers LK, Roy PA, Rustamkulov Z, Shkolnik EL, Sotzen KS, Taylor J, Tremblin P, Tucker GS, Turner JD, de Val-Borro M, Venot O, Zhang X. Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam. Nature 2023; 614:653-658. [PMID: 36623551 PMCID: PMC9946836 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05590-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Measuring the metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio in exoplanet atmospheres is a fundamental step towards constraining the dominant chemical processes at work and, if in equilibrium, revealing planet formation histories. Transmission spectroscopy (for example, refs. 1,2) provides the necessary means by constraining the abundances of oxygen- and carbon-bearing species; however, this requires broad wavelength coverage, moderate spectral resolution and high precision, which, together, are not achievable with previous observatories. Now that JWST has commenced science operations, we are able to observe exoplanets at previously uncharted wavelengths and spectral resolutions. Here we report time-series observations of the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b using JWST's Near InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). The long-wavelength spectroscopic and short-wavelength photometric light curves span 2.0-4.0 micrometres, exhibit minimal systematics and reveal well defined molecular absorption features in the planet's spectrum. Specifically, we detect gaseous water in the atmosphere and place an upper limit on the abundance of methane. The otherwise prominent carbon dioxide feature at 2.8 micrometres is largely masked by water. The best-fit chemical equilibrium models favour an atmospheric metallicity of 1-100-times solar (that is, an enrichment of elements heavier than helium relative to the Sun) and a substellar C/O ratio. The inferred high metallicity and low C/O ratio may indicate significant accretion of solid materials during planet formation (for example, refs. 3,4,) or disequilibrium processes in the upper atmosphere (for example, refs. 5,6).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Maria Ahrer
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
| | | | | | - Sarah E Moran
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Jonathan Brande
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Giuseppe Morello
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Tenerife, Spain
- Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Tenerife, Spain
- INAF- Palermo Astronomical Observatory, Piazza del Parlamento, Palermo, Italy
| | - Catriona A Murray
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | | | | | - Peter J Wheatley
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Sebastian Zieba
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
- Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | | | - Jayesh M Goyal
- School of Earth and Planetary Sciences (SEPS), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), HBNI, Jatani, India
| | - Monika Lendl
- Département d'Astronomie, Université de Genève, Sauverny, Switzerland
| | | | - Sagnick Mukherjee
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kazumasa Ohno
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Natalie M Batalha
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Astrobiology Program, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Matthew P Battley
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Jacob L Bean
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Thomas G Beatty
- Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Björn Benneke
- Department of Physics and Institute for Research on Exoplanets, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Aarynn L Carter
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Patricio E Cubillos
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
- INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Pino Torinese, Italy
| | - Tansu Daylan
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Néstor Espinoza
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter Gao
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC, USA
| | - Neale P Gibson
- School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Samuel Gill
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Joseph Harrington
- Planetary Sciences Group, Department of Physics and Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Renyu Hu
- Astrophysics Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Nikole K Lewis
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Michael R Line
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | | | - Vivien Parmentier
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, France
| | - Diana K Powell
- Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David K Sing
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shang-Min Tsai
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Luis Welbanks
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Munazza K Alam
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC, USA
| | - Lili Alderson
- School of Physics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Natalie H Allen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David R Anderson
- Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Joanna K Barstow
- School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Daniel Bayliss
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Taylor J Bell
- BAER Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA, USA
| | - Jasmina Blecic
- Department of Physics, 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, United Arab Emirates
| | - Edward M Bryant
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | | | - Ludmila Carone
- Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz, Austria
| | - S L Casewell
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Quentin Changeat
- Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- European Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, UK
| | - Katy L Chubb
- Centre for Exoplanet Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Ian J M Crossfield
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Nicolas Crouzet
- Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Leen Decin
- Institute of Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean-Michel Désert
- Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Adina D Feinstein
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Laura Flagg
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Jonathan J Fortney
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - John E Gizis
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Kevin Heng
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- University Observatory Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
- ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Iro
- Institute for Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eliza M-R Kempton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Sarah Kendrew
- European Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - James Kirk
- Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Heather A Knutson
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Pierre-Olivier Lagage
- Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Jérémy Leconte
- Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | | | - Ryan J MacDonald
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Luigi Mancini
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Physics, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy
- INAF - Turin Astrophysical Observatory, Pino Torinese, Italy
| | - E M May
- Johns Hopkins APL, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - N J Mayne
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Yamila Miguel
- Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands
- SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Karan Molaverdikhani
- Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany
- University Observatory Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
- Exzellenzcluster Origins, Garching, Germany
| | - Enric Palle
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Tenerife, Spain
| | - Caroline Piaulet
- Department of Physics and Institute for Research on Exoplanets, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Benjamin 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
| | - Seth Redfield
- Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
| | - Laura K Rogers
- Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Pierre-Alexis Roy
- Department of Physics and Institute for Research on Exoplanets, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Zafar Rustamkulov
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Evgenya L Shkolnik
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Kristin S Sotzen
- Johns Hopkins APL, Laurel, MD, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jake Taylor
- Department of Physics and Institute for Research on Exoplanets, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - P Tremblin
- Maison de la Simulation, CEA, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Jake D Turner
- Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | | | - Olivia Venot
- Université de Paris Cité and Univ Paris Est Creteil, CNRS, LISA, Paris, France
| | - Xi Zhang
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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