NIRCam Performance on JWST In Flight

Abstract

The Near Infrared Camera for the James Webb Space Telescope is delivering the imagery that astronomers have hoped for ever since JWST was proposed back in the 1990s. In the Commissioning Period that extended from right after launch to early July 2022 NIRCam has been subjected to a number of performance tests and operational checks. The camera is exceeding pre-launch expectations in virtually all areas with very few surprises discovered in flight. NIRCam also delivered the imagery needed by the Wavefront Sensing Team for use in aligning the telescope mirror segments (\citealt{Acton_etal2022}, \citealt{McElwain_etal2022}).

17 pages, 18 figures Accepted for publication in PASP

References in corpus (3)

• First Peek with JWST/NIRCam Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy: Serendipitous Discovery of a Strong [O III]/H$\alpha$ Emitter at $z=6.11$
• JWST NIRCam Defocused Imaging: Photometric Stability Performance and How it Can Sense Mirror Tilts
• Two NIRCam channels are Better than One: How JWST Can Do More Science with NIRCam's Short-Wavelength Dispersed Hartmann Sensor

Cited by in corpus (125)

• The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
• A CEERS Discovery of an Accreting Supermassive Black Hole 570 Myr after the Big Bang: Identifying a Progenitor of Massive z > 6 Quasars
• Confirmation and refutation of very luminous galaxies in the early universe
• In-orbit Performance of the Near-Infrared Spectrograph NIRSpec on the James Webb Space Telescope
• EIGER II. first spectroscopic characterisation of the young stars and ionised gas associated with strong H$\beta$ and [OIII] line-emission in galaxies at z=5-7 with JWST
• Most of the photons that reionized the Universe came from dwarf galaxies
• JWST UNCOVER: Extremely red and compact object at$z_{\mathrm{phot}}\simeq 7.6$ triply imaged by Abell 2744
• The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance
• UNCOVERing the extended strong lensing structures of Abell 2744 with the deepest JWST imaging
• RUBIES: a complete census of the bright and red distant Universe with JWST/NIRSpec
• Fast-moving stars around an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri
• Carbonaceous dust grains seen in the first billion years of cosmic time
• First Sample of H$\alpha$+[O III] $\lambda$5007 Line Emitters at $z>6$ Through JWST/NIRCam Slitless Spectroscopy: Physical Properties and Line Luminosity Functions
• JWST UNCOVER: Discovery of $z>9$ Galaxy Candidates Behind the Lensing Cluster Abell 2744
• Spatially Resolved Properties of High Redshift Galaxies in the SMACS0723 JWST ERO Field
• JADES: Discovery of extremely high equivalent width Lyman-alpha emission from a faint galaxy within an ionized bubble at z=7.3
• Witnessing the onset of reionisation via Lyman-$\alpha$ emission at redshift 13
• EPOCHS IV: SED Modelling Assumptions and their impact on the Stellar Mass Function at 6.5 < z < 13.5 using PEARLS and public JWST observations
• The UNCOVER Survey: A First-look HST+JWST Catalog of Galaxy Redshifts and Stellar Population Properties Spanning $0.2\lesssim z\lesssim 15$
• The JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey: Discovery of an Extreme Galaxy Overdensity at $z=5.4$ with JWST/NIRCam in GOODS-S
• EPOCHS VII: Discovery of high redshift ($6.5<z<12$) AGN candidates in JWST ERO and PEARLS data
• Deciphering Lyman-$\alpha$ Emission Deep into the Epoch of Reionisation
• Spatially resolved imaging of the inner Fomalhaut disk using JWST/MIRI
• A JWST Survey of the Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
• Seven wonders of Cosmic Dawn: JWST confirms a high abundance of galaxies and AGNs at z $\simeq$ 9-11 in the GLASS field
• Galaxy Mergers in the Epoch of Reionization I: A JWST Study of Pair Fractions, Merger Rates, and Stellar Mass Accretion Rates at $z=4.5-11.5$
• JWST FRESCO: a comprehensive census of H$\beta$+[OIII] emitters at 6.8<z<9.0 in the GOODS fields
• Identification of High-Redshift Galaxy Overdensities in GOODS-N and GOODS-S
• COSMOS2025: The COSMOS-Web galaxy catalog of photometry, morphology, redshifts, and physical parameters from JWST, HST, and ground-based imaging
• JWST/NIRSpec Observations of the Planetary Mass Companion TWA 27B
• JADES + JEMS: A Detailed Look at the Buildup of Central Stellar Cores and Suppression of Star Formation in Galaxies at Redshifts 3 < z < 4.5
• JADES: Primaeval Lyman-$\alpha$ emitting galaxies reveal early sites of reionisation out to redshift $z\sim 9$
• Investigating photometric and spectroscopic variability in the multiply-imaged Little Red Dot A2744-QSO1
• Unveiling the hidden universe with JWST: The contribution of dust-obscured galaxies to the stellar mass function at $z\sim 3-8$
• Outshining in the Spatially Resolved Analysis of a Strongly-Lensed Galaxy at z=6.072 with JWST NIRCam
• The Brighter-Fatter Effect in the JWST MIRI Si:As IBC detectors I. Observations, impact on science, and modelling
• Evidence for Morning-to-Evening Limb Asymmetry on the Cool Low-Density Exoplanet WASP-107b
• JWST UNCOVER: The Overabundance of Ultraviolet-luminous Galaxies at $z>9$
• JWST/CEERS sheds light on dusty star-forming galaxies: forming bulges, lopsidedness and outside-in quenching at cosmic noon
• Gas outflows in two recently quenched galaxies at z = 4 and 7
• GOALS-JWST: Gas Dynamics and Excitation in NGC7469 revealed by NIRSpec
• The ALMA-CRISTAL survey: Gas, dust, and stars in star-forming galaxies when the Universe was ~1 Gyr old I. Survey overview and case studies
• No evidence for a significant evolution of $M_{\bullet }$-$M_{\ast }$ relation in massive galaxies up to z$\sim$4
• GA-NIFS and EIGER: A merging quasar host at z=7 with an overmassive black hole
• First Observations of the Brown Dwarf HD 19467 B with JWST
• Redshifting galaxies from DESI to JWST CEERS: Correction of biases and uncertainties in quantifying morphology
• JWST-TST High Contrast: JWST/NIRCam observations of the young giant planet $\beta$ Pic b
• Cosmic Outliers: Low-Spin Halos Explain the Abundance, Compactness, and Redshift Evolution of the Little Red Dots
• PANORAMIC: Discovery of an Ultra-Massive Grand-Design Spiral Galaxy at $z\sim 5.2$
• A Metal-Free Galaxy at $z=3.19$? Evidence of Late Population III Star Formation at Cosmic Noon
• Identification of a turnover in the initial mass function of a young stellar cluster down to 0.5 M${}_J$
• The Manhattan Suite: Accelerated galaxy evolution in the early Universe
• Simulating image coaddition with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: I. Simulation methodology and general results
• Uncovering the physical origin of the prominent Lyman-$\alpha$ emission and absorption in GS9422 at $z=5.943$
• COSMOS-Web: A history of galaxy migrations over the stellar mass-star formation rate plane
• SOFIA FEEDBACK Survey: The Pillars of Creation in [C II] and Molecular Lines
• Evolution of the UV slope of galaxies at cosmic morning (z > 4): the properties of extremely blue galaxies
• The COSMOS-Web deep galaxy group catalog up to $z=3.7$
• JWST observations of the Horsehead photon-dominated region I. First results from multi-band near- and mid-infrared imaging
• JADES Ultra-red Flattened Objects: Morphologies and Spatial Gradients in Color and Stellar Populations
• Feedback and dynamical masses in high-$z$ galaxies: the advent of high-resolution NIRSpec spectroscopy
• New JWST redshifts for the host galaxies of CDF-S XT1 and XT2: understanding their nature
• Exploring Cosmic Dawn with PANORAMIC I: The Bright End of the UVLF at $z\sim 9-17$
• JADES Data Release 4 Paper I: Sample Selection, Observing Strategy and Redshifts of the complete spectroscopic sample
• PDRs4All XIII. Empirical prescriptions for the interpretation of JWST imaging observations of star-forming regions
• The edge-on disk Tau042021: icy grains at high altitudes and a wind containing astronomical PAHs
• Resolving galactic-scale obscuration of X-ray AGN at $z\gtrsim 1$ with COSMOS-Web
• Physical properties of strong 1 < z < 3 Balmer and Paschen lines emitters observed with JWST
• The JWST Emission Line Survey (JELS): Extending rest-optical narrow-band emission line selection into the Epoch of Reionization
• Simulation-based inference of galaxy properties from JWST pixels
• Direct detectability of tidally heated exomoons by photometric orbital modulation
• NOEMA reveals the true nature of luminous red JWST z>10 galaxy candidates
• Galaxy Mergers in the Epoch of Reionization II: Major Merger-Triggered Star Formation and AGN Activities at $z=$ 4.5-8.5
• PEARLS: Low Stellar Density Galaxies in the El Gordo Cluster Observed with JWST
• Possible environmental quenching in an interacting little red dot pair at $z\sim 7$
• A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE): JWST Discovers an Overdensity around a Metal Absorption-selected Galaxy at $z\sim 5.5$
• The Importance of Dust Distribution in Ionizing-photon Escape: NIRCam and MIRI Imaging of a Lyman Continuum-emitting Galaxy at z ~ 3.8
• New Methods of Identifying AGN in the Early Universe using Spectroscopy and Photometry in the JWST Era
• COSMOS-Web galaxy groups: Evolution of red sequence and quiescent galaxy fraction
• Investigating the Growth of Little Red Dot Descendants at z<4 with the JWST
• A grand-design spiral galaxy 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang with JWST
• HELLO project: High-$z$ Evolution of Large and Luminous Objects
• Galaxy Zoo JWST: Up to 75% of discs are featureless at $3<z<7$
• Mapping dark matter in the Bullet Cluster using JWST imaging and spectroscopy
• Beyond the stars: Linking H$\alpha$ sizes, kinematics, and star formation in galaxies at $z\approx 4-6$ with JWST grism surveys and $\text{geko}$
• Cosmic Stillness: High Quiescent Galaxy Fractions Across Upper Mass Scales in the Early Universe to z = 7 with JWST
• Searching for Planets Orbiting Vega with the James Webb Space Telescope
• Astrometric follow-up of near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 during a Torino scale level 3 alert
• GRB 241105A: A test case for GRB classification and rapid r-process nucleosynthesis channels
• Investigating silicate, carbon, and water in the diffuse interstellar medium: the first shots from WISCI
• Orbital Characterization of a Newly Discovered Small Satellite Around Quaoar
• Spatially resolved H$\alpha$ emission in B14-65666: compact starbursts, ionizing efficiency and gas kinematics in an advanced merger at the Epoch of Reionization
• Black hole mass of a quiescent galaxy hosting a Type 1 AGN at z=2.09: Implications for black hole - galaxy co-evolution and AGN quenching at high redshift
• SLICE: SPT-CL J0546-5345 -- A prominent strong-lensing cluster at $z=1.07$
• Characterising the z $\sim$ 7.66 Type-II AGN candidate SMACS S06355 using BEAGLE-AGN and JWST NIRSpec/NIRCam
• Formation of Substructure in Luminous Submillimeter Galaxies (FOSSILS): Evidence of Multiple Pathways to Trigger Starbursts in Luminous Submillimeter Galaxies
• Shedding the envelope: JWST reveals a kiloparsec-scale [OIII]-weak Balmer shell around a z=7.64 quasar
• The Magnetically Induced Radial Velocity Variation of Gliese 341 and an Upper Limit to the Mass of Its Transiting Earth-sized Planet
• In-Lab High Resolution Mid-infrared Up-conversion Stellar Interferometer Based on Synthetic Long Base-Line
• Classifying merger stages with adaptive deep learning and cosmological hydrodynamical simulations
• Deep Search for a scattered light dust halo around Vega with the Hubble Space Telescope
• Multi-wavelength JWST observations of (3200) Phaethon show a dehydrated object with an aqueously altered origin
• Testing Photometric Techniques for Measuring the Rest-Frame UV Spectral Slope Against JWST PRISM Spectroscopy
• Compact dust-obscured star-formation and the origin of the galaxy bimodality
• Reionization in Protocluster Environments at $z>7$ with JWST/NIRSpec
• The Luminosity Function of Ultra-Faint Trans-Neptunian Objects Detected by JWST
• Fusion of JWST data: Demonstrating practical feasibility
• Computing the Electronic Gain for Detectors Read Out Up-The-Ramp
• Faint galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance revealed by JWST/NIRCam
• Deep JWST spectroscopy of galaxies in a candidate ionized bubble at $z=8.7$: probing reionization at pMpc scales with Ly$\alpha$ emission
• The fate of the progenitors of luminous red novae: Infrared detection of LRNe years after the outburst
• JWST imaging of the Pleiades: anisotropy of turbulence in the cold neutral medium
• The rise and fall of Little Red Dots could be driven by the environment
• Direct Imaging Discovery of Giant Exoplanet $\beta$ Pictoris d: A Decade-Long Game of Hide-and-Seek
• On the ages of the stellar populations of galaxies at $z=0.1$-7
• Back to basics: Little Red Dots as galaxies and dust-obscured AGNs in a synthetic NIRCam sky simulated with L-GalaxiesBH
• Flexible Simulation Based Inference for Galaxy Photometric Fitting with Synthesizer
• Uncertainty-Aware Neural Networks for Fuzzy Dark Matter Model Selection from \texorpdfstring{$x_{\mathrm{HI}}$}{x_HI} Measurements
• Dust and gas modelling in radiative transfer simulations of disc-dominated galaxies with RADMC-3D
• Everything Every Band All at Once I: A Global Morphology Catalog in Abell 2744 based on UNCOVER/MegaScience
• PDRs4All XVIII. JWST-NIRCam Photometric properties of protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula Cluster
• Extreme equivalent width-selected low-mass starbursts at $z=4-9$: insights into their role in cosmic reionization
• Dissecting NGC 3132: Tracing the mass-loss history of the southern ring planetary nebula
• An Hα Transit of HD 189733b to Assess Stellar Activity Across the Transit Chord Close to JWST Observations
• The Nature of High-Redshift Massive Quiescent Galaxies -- Searching for RUBIES-UDS-QG-z7 in FLARES