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

Abstract

Transmission spectroscopy of exoplanets has revealed signatures of water vapor, aerosols, and alkali metals in a few dozen exoplanet atmospheres. 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 molecules. Here we report a broad-wavelength 0.5-5.5 $\mu$m atmospheric transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b, a 1200 K, roughly Saturn-mass, Jupiter-radius exoplanet, measured with JWST NIRSpec's PRISM mode as part of the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Team program. We robustly detect multiple chemical species at high significance, including Na (19$\sigma$), H${}_2$O (33$\sigma$), CO${}_2$ (28$\sigma$), and CO (7$\sigma$). The non-detection of CH${}_4$, combined with a strong CO${}_2$ feature, favours atmospheric models with a super-solar atmospheric metallicity. An unanticipated absorption feature at 4$\mu$m is best explained by SO${}_2$ (2.7$\sigma$), which could be a tracer of atmospheric photochemistry. These observations demonstrate JWST's sensitivity to a rich diversity of exoplanet compositions and chemical processes.

41 pages, 4 main figures, 10 extended data figures, 4 tables. Under review in Nature

References in corpus (33)

• Array Programming with NumPy
• The Gaia mission
• Bayes in the sky: Bayesian inference and model selection in cosmology
• petitRADTRANS: a Python radiative transfer package for exoplanet characterization and retrieval
• The effect of red noise on planetary transit detection
• Atmospheric Sulfur Photochemistry on Hot Jupiters
• Early Release Science of the Exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec G395H
• Fingering convection and cloudless models for cool brown dwarf atmospheres
• A Sub-Neptune Exoplanet with a Low-Metallicity Methane-Depleted Atmosphere and Mie-Scattering Clouds
• ExoMol molecular line lists - XVI: The rotation-vibration spectrum of hot H${}_2$S
• Mass-Metallicity Trends in Transiting Exoplanets from Atmospheric Abundances of H${}_2$O, Na, and K
• The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope II. Multi-object spectroscopy (MOS)
• exoplanet: Gradient-based probabilistic inference for exoplanet data & other astronomical time series
• Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam
• Identification of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere
• The Complete transmission spectrum of WASP-39b with a precise water constraint
• The Stagger-grid: A grid of 3D stellar atmosphere models - IV. Limb darkening coefficients
• Eureka!: An End-to-End Pipeline for JWST Time-Series Observations
• A Comparative Study of Atmospheric Chemistry with VULCAN
• Spitzer Observations Confirm and Rescue the Habitable-Zone Super-Earth K2-18b for Future Characterization
• VLT FORS2 comparative transmission spectroscopy: Detection of Na in the atmosphere of WASP-39b from the ground
• Transit Signatures of Inhomogeneous Clouds on Hot Jupiters: Insights From Microphysical Cloud Modeling
• Atmospheric Regimes and Trends on Exoplanets and Brown Dwarfs
• The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope IV. Capabilities and predicted performance for exoplanet characterization
• Analysis of a JWST NIRSpec Lab Time Series: Characterizing Systematics, Recovering Exoplanet Transit Spectroscopy, and Constraining a Noise Floor
• ACCESS & LRG-BEASTS: a precise new optical transmission spectrum of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-103b
• A Library of Self-Consistent Simulated Exoplanet Atmospheres
• Transmission spectroscopy for the warm sub-Neptune HD3167c: evidence for molecular absorption and a possible high metallicity atmosphere
• The carbon-to-oxygen ratio: implications for the spectra of hydrogen-dominated exoplanet atmospheres
• The PHOENIX Exoplanet Retrieval Algorithm and Using H${}^{-}$ Opacity as a Probe in Ultra-hot Jupiters
• ExoTiC-ISM: A Python package for marginalised exoplanet transit parameters across a grid of systematic instrument models
• Atmospheric Characterization of Hot Jupiter CoRoT-1 b Using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope
• The Sonora Brown Dwarf Atmosphere and Evolution Models I. Model Description and Application to Cloudless Atmospheres in Rainout Chemical Equilibrium

Cited by in corpus (146)

• Early Release Science of the Exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec G395H
• Photochemically-produced SO${}_2$ in the atmosphere of WASP-39b
• Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS
• No thick carbon dioxide atmosphere on the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c
• Early Release Science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam
• High Tide or Riptide on the Cosmic Shoreline? A Water-Rich Atmosphere or Stellar Contamination for the Warm Super-Earth GJ~486b from JWST Observations
• Atmospheric Reconnaissance of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/NIRISS: Evidence for Strong Stellar Contamination in the Transmission Spectra
• A JWST transmission spectrum of a nearby Earth-sized exoplanet
• SO2, silicate clouds, but no CH4 detected in a warm Neptune
• Double Trouble: Two Transits of the Super-Earth GJ 1132 b Observed with JWST NIRSpec G395H
• The Sonora Substellar Atmosphere Models. IV. Elf Owl: Atmospheric Mixing and Chemical Disequilibrium with Varying Metallicity and C/O Ratios
• Sulphur dioxide in the mid-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-39b
• A warm Neptune's methane reveals core mass and vigorous atmospheric mixing
• Awesome SOSS: Transmission Spectroscopy of WASP-96b with NIRISS/SOSS
• A Benchmark JWST Near-Infrared Spectrum for the Exoplanet WASP-39b
• JWST transmission spectroscopy of HD 209458b: a super-solar metallicity, a very low C/O, and no evidence of CH4, HCN, or C2H2
• Clouds and Clarity: Revisiting Atmospheric Feature Trends in Neptune-size Exoplanets
• Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations
• High atmospheric metal enrichment for a Saturn-mass planet
• Volatile-to-sulfur Ratios Can Recover a Gas Giant's Accretion History
• Four-of-a-kind? Comprehensive atmospheric characterisation of the HR 8799 planets with VLTI/GRAVITY
• Quartz Clouds in the Dayside Atmosphere of the Quintessential Hot Jupiter HD 189733 b
• Atmospheres as windows into sub-Neptune interiors: coupled chemistry and structure of hydrogen-silane-water envelopes
• Hints of a sulfur-rich atmosphere around the 1.6 R${}_{\oplus }$ Super-Earth L98-59 d from JWST NIRSpec G395H transmission spectroscopy
• CO or no CO? Narrowing the CO abundance constraint and recovering the H2O detection in the atmosphere of WASP-127 b using SPIRou
• Atmospheric retrievals suggest the presence of a secondary atmosphere and possible sulfur species on L 98-59 d from JWST NIRSpec G395H transmission spectroscopy
• A JWST NIRSpec Phase Curve for WASP-121b: Dayside Emission Strongest Eastward of the Substellar Point and Nightside Conditions Conducive to Cloud Formation
• Homogeneous search for helium in the atmosphere of 11 gas giant exoplanets with SPIRou
• Nitrogen as a Tracer of Giant Planet Formation. I.: A Universal Deep Adiabatic Profile and Semi-analytical Predictions of Disequilibrium Ammonia Abundances in Warm Exoplanetary Atmospheres
• Exoplanet Spectroscopy with JWST NIRISS: Diagnostics and Case Studies
• A roadmap for the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets with JWST
• Toward Robust Corrections for Stellar Contamination in JWST Exoplanet Transmission Spectra
• Optical Properties of Organic Haze Analogues in Water-rich Exoplanet Atmospheres Observable with JWST
• WIde Separation Planets In Time (WISPIT): A Gap-clearing Planet in a Multi-ringed Disk around the Young Solar-type Star WISPIT 2
• A Mini-Chemical Scheme with Net Reactions for 3D GCMs II. 3D thermochemical modelling of WASP-39b and HD 189733b
• BOWIE-ALIGN: How formation and migration histories of giant planets impact atmospheric compositions
• Multiple Clues for Dayside Aerosols and Temperature Gradients in WASP-69 b from a Panchromatic JWST Emission Spectrum
• ExoMol line lists -- LVI: The SO line list, MARVEL analysis of experimental transition data and refinement of the spectroscopic model
• Primordial or Secondary? Testing models of debris disk gas with ALMA
• Chemical mapping of temperate sub-Neptune atmospheres: Constraining the deep-interior H2O/H2 using the atmospheric CO2/CH4
• JWST-TST DREAMS: NIRSpec/PRISM Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e
• Using JWST transits and occultations to determine $\sim 1\%$ stellar radii and temperatures of low-mass stars
• BOWIE-ALIGN: JWST reveals hints of planetesimal accretion and complex sulphur chemistry in the atmosphere of the misaligned hot Jupiter WASP-15b
• Detection of carbon monoxide's 4.6 micron fundamental band structure in WASP-39b's atmosphere with JWST NIRSpec G395H
• JWST-TST High Contrast: Living on the Wedge, or, NIRCam Bar Coronagraphy Reveals CO${}_2$ in the HR 8799 and 51 Eri Exoplanets' Atmospheres
• Resolved ALMA observations of water in the inner astronomical units of the HL Tau disk
• Planet Mass and Metallicity: The Exoplanets and Solar System Connection
• Dynamics and Clouds in Planetary Atmospheres from Telescopic Observations
• Transmission spectroscopy of WASP-52 b with JWST NIRISS: Water and helium atmospheric absorption, alongside prominent star-spot crossings
• Global Chemical Transport on Hot Jupiters: Insights from 2D VULCAN photochemical model
• Modelling dynamically driven global cloud formation microphysics in the HAT-P-1b atmosphere
• High-resolution atmospheric retrievals of WASP-76b transmission spectroscopy with ESPRESSO: Monitoring limb asymmetries across multiple transits
• Day-night transport induced chemistry and clouds on WASP-39b I: Gas-phase composition
• Featureless transmission spectra of 12 giant exoplanets observed by GTC/OSIRIS
• Dynamically coupled kinetic chemistry in brown dwarf atmospheres I. Performing global scale kinetic modelling
• Prebiosignature Molecules Can Be Detected in Temperate Exoplanet Atmospheres with JWST
• BOWIE-ALIGN: A JWST comparative survey of aligned vs misaligned hot Jupiters to test the dependence of atmospheric composition on migration history
• WASP-121b's transmission spectrum observed with JWST/NIRSpec G395H reveals thermal dissociation and SiO in the atmosphere
• Observation of undepleted phosphine in the atmosphere of a low-temperature brown dwarf
• The sulphur species in hot rocky exoplanet atmospheres
• PyExoCross: a Python program for generating spectra and cross-sections from molecular line lists
• Reflected spectroscopy of small exoplanets III: probing the UV band to measure biosignature gasses
• Why heterogeneous cloud particles matter: Iron-bearing species and cloud particle morphology affects exoplanet transmission spectra
• Knobs and dials of retrieving JWST transmission spectra. I. The importance of p-T profile complexity
• Tracing the formation and migration history: molecular signatures in the atmosphere of misaligned hot Jupiter WASP-94Ab using JWST NIRSpec/G395H
• ExoLyn: a golden mean approach to multi-species cloud modelling in atmospheric retrieval
• An absolute mass, precise age, and hints of planetary winds for WASP-121 A and b from a JWST NIRSpec phase curve
• Cloud and Haze Parameterization in Atmospheric Retrievals: Insights from Titan's Cassini Data and JWST Observations of Hot Jupiters
• Automated chemical reaction network generation and its application to exoplanet atmospheres
• Photodissociation and induced chemical asymmetries on ultra-hot gas giants. A case study of HCN on WASP-76 b
• Constraining the formation of WASP-39b using JWST transit spectroscopy
• Detecting Planetary Oblateness in the Era of JWST: A Case Study of Kepler-167e
• A transiting giant planet in orbit around a 0.2-solar-mass host star
• Ab initio quantum dynamics as a scalable solution to the exoplanet opacity challenge: A case study of CO${}_2$ in hydrogen atmosphere
• Additional JWST/NIRSpec Transits of the Rocky M Dwarf Exoplanet GJ 1132 b Reveal a Featureless Spectrum
• Grid-Based Atmospheric Retrievals for Reflected-Light Spectra of Exoplanets using PSGnest
• Breaking degeneracies in exoplanetary parameters through self-consistent atmosphere-interior modelling
• Refractory and Volatile Species in the UV-to-IR Transmission Spectrum of Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-178b with HST and JWST
• Enabling Robust Exoplanet Atmospheric Retrievals with Gaussian Processes
• A physically derived eddy parameterization for giant planet atmospheres with application on hot-Jupiter atmospheres
• A High-Resolution Spectroscopic Survey of Directly Imaged Companion Hosts: I. Determination of diagnostic stellar abundances for planet formation and composition
• LRG-BEASTS: Evidence for clouds in the transmission spectrum of HATS-46 b
• Deciphering Sub-Neptune Atmospheres: New Insights from Geochemical Models of TOI-270 d
• squishyplanet: Modeling Transits of Non-spherical Exoplanets in JAX
• PICASO 4.0: Clouds and Photochemistry in Climate Models of Brown Dwarfs and Exoplanets
• Diversity in the haziness and chemistry of temperate sub-Neptunes
• The Effect of Metallicity on the Non-Equilibrium Abundance of Hydrogen Dominated Exoplanet Atmosphere
• A Population Analysis of 20 Exoplanets Observed from the Optical to the Near-infrared Wavelengths with HST: Evidence for Widespread Stellar Contamination
• An extremely low-density exoplanet spins slow
• ARES VI: Viability of one-dimensional retrieval models for transmission spectroscopy characterization of exo-atmospheres in the era of JWST and Ariel
• Strong NUV Refractory Absorption and Dissociated Water in the Hubble Transmission Spectrum of the Ultra Hot Jupiter KELT-20 b
• Cloudy mornings and clear evenings on a gas giant exoplanet
• Comparing transit spectroscopy pipelines at the catalogue level: evidence for systematic differences
• An HST Transmission Spectrum of the Closest M-Dwarf Transiting Rocky Planet LTT 1445Ab
• Signature of the atmospheric asymmetries of hot and ultra-hot Jupiters in lightcurves
• Effects of transient stellar emissions on planetary climates of tidally-locked exo-earths
• Unraveling the non-equilibrium chemistry of the temperate sub-Neptune K2-18 b
• GEMS JWST: Transmission spectroscopy of TOI-5205b reveals significant stellar contamination and a metal-poor atmosphere
• Under the magnifying glass: A combined 3D model applied to cloudy warm Saturn type exoplanets around M-dwarfs
• The effect of spectroscopic binning on atmospheric retrievals
• An Analytic Characterization of the Limb Asymmetry -- Transit Time Degeneracy
• How do wavelength correlations affect transmission spectra? Application of a new fast and flexible 2D Gaussian process framework to transiting exoplanet spectroscopy
• Probing reflection from aerosols with the near-infrared dayside spectrum of WASP-80b
• A Detailed Investigation of HD 209458 b HST & JWST Transmission Spectra with SANSAR
• Detectability of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere of WASP-6 b with JWST NIRSpec PRISM
• The role of cloud particle properties on WASP-39b transmission spectrum based on JWST/NIRSpec observations
• Lessons from Hubble and Spitzer: 1D Self-Consistent Model Grids for 19 Hot Jupiter Emission Spectra
• Using a neural network approach to accelerate disequilibrium chemistry calculations in exoplanet atmospheres
• A new pathway to SO${}_2$: Revealing the NUV driven sulfur chemistry in hot gas giants
• TOI-1199 b and TOI-1273 b: Two new transiting hot Saturns detected and characterized with SOPHIE and TESS
• Can Isotopologues Be Used as Biosignature Gases in Exoplanet Atmospheres?
• Experimental Investigation of the Photochemical Production of Hydrocarbons in Warm Gas Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres
• A Comprehensive Analysis of the Panchromatic Transmission Spectrum of the Hot-Saturn WASP-96 b: Nondetection of Haze, Possible Sodium Limb Asymmetry, Stellar Characterization, and Formation History
• Probing Two-dimensional Asymmetries of an Exoplanet Atmosphere from Chromatic Transit Variation
• The ESPRESSO transmission spectrum of HD189733b : Extracting the planetary sodium and lithium signatures amid stellar contamination
• Detection of Na in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-55b
• Exploring Exoplanet Dynamics with JWST: Tides, Rotation, Rings, and Moons
• Detection of CO${}_2$, CO, and H${}_2$O in the atmosphere of the warm sub-Saturn HAT-P-12b
• Evidence for a Nonzero Eccentricity Superpuff Exoplanet WASP-107 b Using JWST Occultation Observation
• Aerosols and hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of a white dwarf planet
• From Global Climate Models (GCMs) to Exoplanet Spectra with the Global Emission Spectra (GlobES)
• Quantum jump photodetector for narrowband photon counting with a single atom
• Limb-Darkening Coefficients for the 4-Term and Power-2 Laws for the JWST Space Mission, Adopting PHOENIX Spherical Models at High Resolution
• Ground-Based Reconnaissance Observations of 21 Exoplanet Atmospheres with the Exoplanet Transmission Spectroscopy Imager
• Knobs and dials of retrieving JWST transmission spectra. II. Impacts of pipeline-level differences on retrieval posteriors
• Separating flare and secondary atmospheric signals with RADYN modeling of near-infrared JWST transmission spectroscopy observations of TRAPPIST-1
• A Global Perspective with Updated Constraints on the Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-19b: Atmospheric Properties and Stellar Activity
• DARWEN: Data-driven Algorithm for Reduction of Wide Exoplanetary Networks
• Warm Jupiters around M-dwarfs are great opportunities for extensive chemical, cloud and haze characterisation with JWST
• KRONOS I: The $1-2.8\mu$m JWST Transmission Spectrum of the 23 Myr V1298 Tau c
• Deciphering transmission spectra by exploring the solar paradigm
• Atmospheric asymmetries in WASP-121 b revealed by rotational transits detected with JWST
• Exploring Synergies between Twinkle and Ariel: a Pilot Study
• Sub-Neptunes as Soot Factories: Deep Atmosphere Hydrocarbon Formation and Quenching as the Origin of Sub-Neptune Aerosol Trends
• A new look into the atmospheric composition of WASP-39 b
• Evidence for stellar contamination and water absorption in NGTS-5b's transmission spectra with GTC/OSIRIS
• An Informational-Entropic Approach to Exoplanet Characterization
• Direct Images of CO2 Absorption in the Atmosphere of a Super-Jupiter: Enhanced Metallicity Suggestive of Formation in a Disk
• Glow reduction of ultra-low noise LmAPDs: towards photon counting infrared arrays
• $\text{Exoformer}$: Accelerating Bayesian atmospheric retrievals with transformer neural networks
• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Roman Sees Where You Are: Predicting Exoplanet Transit Yields in the Rosette Nebula with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
• The HUSTLE Program: The UV to Near-IR Transmission Spectrum of the Hot Jupiter KELT-7b
• Information content of JWST transmission spectroscopy of the exoplanet HAT-P-12b from the optical to the mid-infrared
• The effect of JWST/NIRSpec data reduction on the retrieval of WASP-39b atmospheric properties
• Assessment of a Physics-based Retrieval of Exoplanet Atmospheric Temperatures from Infrared Emission Spectra
• Analytical transit light curves for arbitrary power-law limb darkening: a unified framework