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The first JWST/MIRI photometric observations of TRAPPIST-1 b allowed for the detection of the thermal emission of the planet at 15 $\mu m$, suggesting that the planet could be a bare rock with a zero albedo and no redistribution of heat. These observations at 15 $\mu m$ were acquired as part of GTO time that included a twin program at 12.8 $\mu m$ in order to have a measurement in and outside the CO$_2$ absorption band. Here we present five new occultations of TRAPPIST-1 b observed with MIRI in an additional photometric band at 12.8 $\mu m$. We perform a global fit of the 10 eclipses and derive a planet-to-star flux ratio and 1-$\sigma$ error of 452 $\pm$ 86 ppm and 775 $\pm$ 90 ppm at 12.8 $\mu m$ and 15 $\mu m$, respectively. We find that two main scenarios emerge. An airless planet model with an unweathered (fresh) ultramafic surface, that could be indicative of relatively recent geological processes fits well the data. Alternatively, a thick, pure-CO2 atmosphere with photochemical hazes that create a temperature inversion and result in the CO2 feature being seen in emission also works, although with some caveats. Our results highlight the challenges in accurately determining a planet's atmospheric or surface nature solely from broadband filter measurements of its emission, but also point towards two very interesting scenarios that will be further investigated with the forthcoming phase curve of TRAPPIST-1 b., Comment: 49 pages, 3 main text figure, 2 extended figures, 10 supplementary figures, accepted for publication in Nature Astronomy on October 29, 2024

We present the 2.4--5.0 \um JWST/NIRCam emission spectrum of HD 189733b, along with an independent re-reduction of the previously published transmission spectrum at the same wavelengths. We use an upgraded version of PLanetary Atmospheric Tool for Observer Noobs (PLATON) to retrieve atmospheric parameters from both geometries. In transit, we obtain [M/H]=$0.53_{-0.12}^{+0.13}$ and C/O=$0.41_{-0.12}^{+0.13}$, assuming a power-law haze and equilibrium chemistry with methane depletion. In eclipse, we obtain [M/H]=$0.68_{-0.11}^{+0.15}$ and C/O=$0.43_{-0.05}^{+0.06}$, assuming a clear atmosphere and equilibrium chemistry without methane depletion. These results are consistent with each other, and with a re-run of our previously published joint retrieval of HST and Spitzer transmission and emission spectra. Accounting for methane depletion decreases the C/O ratio by 0.14/0.04 (transmission/emission), but changing the limb cloud parameterization does not affect the C/O ratio by more than 0.06. We detect H$_2$O, CO$_2$, CO, and H$_2$S in both the NIRCam transmission and emission spectra, find that methane is depleted on the terminator, and confirm with VULCAN that photochemistry is a potential cause of this depletion. We also find tentative (1.8$\sigma$) evidence of a dayside thermal inversion at millibar pressures. Finally, we take this opportunity to introduce a new version of PLATON. PLATON 6 supports GPU computation, speeding up the code up to 10x. It also supports free retrievals using both volume mixing ratio and centered-log ratio priors; emission from planetary surfaces of different compositions; updated opacities at improved resolution; and Pareto smoothed importance sampling leave-one-out cross validation (PSIS-LOO)., Comment: Accepted by AJ

The near-infrared (NIR) emission of the youngest protostars still needs to be characterized to better understand the evolution of their accretion and ejection activity. We analyze James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec 1.7 -- 5.3 $\mu$m observations of two deeply embedded sources in the S68N protostellar core in Serpens. The North Central (NC) source exhibits a highly obscured spectrum (A_K ~ 4.8 mag) that is modeled with a pre-main-sequence photosphere and a hot disk component. The photospheric parameters are consistent with a young, low-mass photosphere, as suggested by the low surface gravity, log g of 1.94 $\pm$ 0.15 cm s$^{-2}$. The hot disk suggests that accretion onto the central protostellar embryo is ongoing, although prototypical accretion-tracing emission lines HI are not detected. The South Central (SC) source, which is even more embedded (A_K ~ 8 mag; no continuum is detected shortward of 3.6 $\mu$m) appears to be driving the large-scale S68N protostellar outflow, and launches a collimated hot molecular jet detected in \Ht and CO ro-vibrational lines. Shock modeling of the \Ht (ro)vibrational lines establishes that fast $C$-type shocks ($\geq$ 30 km s$^{-1}$), with high pre-shock density ($\geq$ $10^7$ cm$^{-3}$), and strong magnetic field (b ~ 3--10, where $B = b\,\times\,\sqrt{\textrm{n}_{\textrm{H}} (\textrm{cm}^{-3})}\,\mu\textrm{G}$) best match the data. The bright CO fundamental line forest suggests energetic excitation, with the contribution of non-LTE effects, ie irradiation pumping. Detected OH and CH$^{+}$ ro-vibrational lines support this hypothesis. These two Class 0 protostars seem to be in very young evolutionary stages and still have to acquire the bulk of their final stellar masses. These results demonstrate that JWST enables unprecedented diagnostics of these first stages of the protostellar evolutionary phase.

GJ1214b is the archetype sub-Neptune for which thick aerosols have prevented us from constraining its atmospheric properties for over a decade. In this study, we leverage the panchromatic transmission spectrum of GJ1214b established by HST and JWST to investigate its atmospheric properties using a suite of atmospheric radiative transfer, photochemistry, and aerosol microphysical models. We find that the combined HST, JWST/NIRSpec and JWST/MIRI spectrum can be well-explained by atmospheric models with an extremely high metallicity of [M/H]$\sim$3.5 and an extremely high haze production rate of $F_{\rm haze}{\sim}10^{-8}$--$10^{-7}$ g cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. Such high atmospheric metallicity is suggested by the relatively strong CO2 feature compared to the haze absorption feature or the CH4 feature in the NIRSpec-G395H bandpass of 2.5--5 $\mu$m. The flat 5--12 $\mu$m MIRI spectrum also suggests a small scale height with a high atmospheric metallicity that is needed to suppress a prominent 6 $\mu$m haze feature. We tested the sensitivity of our interpretation to various assumptions for uncertain haze properties, such as optical constants and production rate, and all models tested here consistently suggest extremely high metallicity. Thus, we conclude that GJ1214b likely has a metal-dominated atmosphere where hydrogen is no longer the main atmospheric constituent. We also find that different assumptions for the haze production rate lead to distinct inferences for the atmospheric C/O ratio. We stress the importance of high precision follow-up observations to confirm the metal-dominated atmosphere and to constrain the C/O ratio, which provides further insights on the planet formation process. The confirmation of the metal-dominated atmosphere is particularly crucial, as it challenges the conventional understanding of interior structure and evolution of sub-Neptunes., Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, Published in ApJL, Please also see a companion paper Schlawin et al. (2024)

Sub-Neptune planets with radii smaller than Neptune (3.9 Re) are the most common type of planet known to exist in The Milky Way, even though they are absent in the Solar System. These planets can potentially have a large diversity of compositions as a result of different mixtures of rocky material, icy material and gas accreted from a protoplanetary disk. However, the bulk density of a sub-Neptune, informed by its mass and radius alone, cannot uniquely constrain its composition; atmospheric spectroscopy is necessary. GJ 1214 b, which hosts an atmosphere that is potentially the most favorable for spectroscopic detection of any sub-Neptune, is instead enshrouded in aerosols (thus showing no spectroscopic features), hiding its composition from view at previously observed wavelengths in its terminator. Here, we present a JWST NIRSpec transmission spectrum from 2.8 to 5.1 um that shows signatures of carbon dioxide and methane, expected at high metallicity. A model containing both these molecules is preferred by 3.3 and 3.6 sigma as compared to a featureless spectrum for two different data analysis pipelines, respectively. Given the low signal-to-noise of the features compared to the continuum, however, more observations are needed to confirm the carbon dioxide and methane signatures and better constrain other diagnostic features in the near-infrared. Further modeling of the planet's atmosphere, interior structure and origins will provide valuable insights about how sub-Neptunes like GJ 1214 b form and evolve., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, Accepted in ApJL, Please also see a companion paper Ohno et al. (2024)

A successful theory of star formation should predict the number of objects as a function of their mass produced through star-forming events. Previous studies in star-forming regions and the solar neighborhood identify a mass function increasing from the hydrogen-burning limit down to about 10 M$_{J}$. Theory predicts a limit to the fragmentation process, providing a natural turnover in the mass function down to the opacity limit of turbulent fragmentation thought to be 2-10 M$_{J}$. Programs to date have not been sensitive enough to probe the hypothesized opacity limit of fragmentation. Here we present the first identification of a turnover in the initial mass function below 12 M$_{J}$ within NGC 2024, a young star-forming region. With JWST/NIRCam deep exposures across 0.7-5 {\mu}m, we identified several free floating objects down to ~ 3 M$_{J}$ with sensitivity to 0.5 M$_{J}$. We present evidence for a double power law model increasing from about 60 M$_{J}$ to roughly 12 M$_{J}$, consistent with previous studies, followed by a decrease down to 0.5 M$_{J}$. Our results support the predictions of star and brown dwarf formation theory, identifying the theoretical turnover in the mass function and suggest the fundamental limit of turbulent fragmentation near 3 M$_{J}$., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, submitted 6 September 2024

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)'s Medium Resolution Spectrometer (the MRS) on JWST has potentially important advantages for transit and eclipse spectroscopy of exoplanets, including lack of saturation for bright host stars, wavelength span to longward of 20 microns, and JWST's highest spectral resolving power. We here test the performance of the MRS for time series spectroscopy by observing the secondary eclipse of the bright stellar eclipsing binary R Canis Majoris. Our observations push the MRS into saturation at the shortest wavelength, more than for any currently known exoplanet system. We find strong charge migration between pixels that we mitigate using a custom data analysis pipeline. Our data analysis recovers much of the spatial charge migration by combining detector pixels at the group level, via weighting by the point spread function. We achieve nearly photon-limited performance in time series data at wavelengths longward of 5.2 microns. In 2017, Snellen et al. suggested that the MRS could be used to detect carbon dioxide absorption from the atmosphere of the temperate planet orbiting Proxima Centauri. We infer that the relative spectral response of the MRS versus wavelength is sufficiently stable to make that detection feasible. As regards the secondary eclipse of this Algol-type binary, we measure the eclipse depth by summing our spectra over the wavelengths in four channels, and also measuring the eclipse depth as observed by TESS. Those eclipse depths require a temperature for the secondary star that is significantly hotter than previous observations in the optical to near-IR, probably due to irradiation by the primary star. At full spectral resolution of the MRS, we find atomic hydrogen recombination emission lines in the secondary star, from principal quantum levels n = 7, 8, 10, and 14., Comment: Accepted for PASP. 23 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables

As the closest transiting hot Jupiter to Earth, HD 189733b has been the benchmark planet for atmospheric characterization. It has also been the anchor point for much of our theoretical understanding of exoplanet atmospheres from composition, chemistry, aerosols to atmospheric dynamics, escape, and modeling techniques. Prior studies of HD 189733b have detected carbon and oxygen-bearing molecules H2O and CO in the atmosphere. The presence of CO2 and CH4 has been claimed but later disputed. The inferred metallicity based on these measurements, a key parameter in tracing planet formation locations, varies from depletion to enhancement, hindered by limited wavelength coverage and precision of the observations. Here we report detections of H2O (13.4 sigma), CO2 (11.2 sigma), CO (5 sigma), and H2S (4.5 sigma) in the transmission spectrum (2.4-5 micron) of HD 189733b. With an equilibrium temperature of ~1200K, H2O, CO, and H2S are the main reservoirs for oxygen, carbon, and sulfur. Based on the measured abundances of these three major volatile elements, we infer an atmospheric metallicity of 3-5 times stellar. The upper limit on the methane abundance at 5 sigma is 0.1 ppm which indicates a low carbon-to-oxygen ratio (<0.2), suggesting formation through the accretion of water-rich icy planetesimals. The low oxygen-to-sulfur and carbon-to-sulfur ratios also support the planetesimal accretion formation pathway., Comment: Published online in Nature on July 8th, 2024

WASP-69 b is a hot, inflated, Saturn-mass planet 0.26 Mjup with a zero-albedo equilibrium temperature of 963 K. Here, we report the JWST 2 to 12 um emission spectrum of the planet consisting of two eclipses observed with NIRCam grism time series and one eclipse observed with MIRI LRS. The emission spectrum shows absorption features of water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, but no strong evidence for methane. WASP-69 b's emission spectrum is poorly fit by cloud-free homogeneous models. We find three possible model scenarios for the planet: 1) a Scattering Model that raises the brightness at short wavelengths with a free Geometric Albedo parameter 2) a Cloud Layer model that includes high altitude silicate aerosols to moderate long wavelength emission and 3) a Two-Region model that includes significant dayside inhomogeneity and cloud opacity with two different temperature-pressure profiles. In all cases, aerosols are needed to fit the spectrum of the planet. The Scattering model requires an unexpectedly high Geometric Albedo of 0.64. Our atmospheric retrievals indicate inefficient redistribution of heat and an inhomogeneous dayside distribution, which is tentatively supported by MIRI LRS broadband eclipse maps that show a central concentration of brightness. Our more plausible models (2 and 3) retrieve chemical abundances enriched in heavy elements relative to solar composition by 6x to 14x solar and a C/O ratio of 0.65 to 0.94, whereas the less plausible highly reflective scenario (1) retrieves a slightly lower metallicity and lower C/O ratio., Comment: 41 pages, 19 figures, accepted to the Astronomical Journal

The atmospheric properties of hot exoplanets are expected to be different between the morning and the evening limb due to global atmospheric circulation. Ground-based observations at high spectral resolution have detected this limb asymmetry in several ultra-hot (>2000 K) exoplanets, but the prevalence of the phenomenon in the broader exoplanetary population remains unexplored. Here we use JWST/NIRCam transmission spectra between 2.5 and 4.0 $\mu$m to find evidence of limb asymmetry on exoplanet WASP-107 b. With its equilibrium temperature of 770 K and low density of 0.126 gm c$^{-3}$, WASP-107 b probes a very different regime compared to ultra-hot giant planets and was not expected to exhibit substantial spatial heterogeneity according to atmospheric models. We infer instead a morning-evening temperature difference on the order of 100 K with a hotter evening limb. Further observations on other cooler exoplanets are needed to determine whether WASP-107 b is an outlier or the models underestimate the presence of limb asymmetry in exoplanets., Comment: This preprint has not undergone any significant improvements or corrections. This article's Version of Record has been published in Nature Astronomy and can be found at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02367-9. Enclosed is the main text, 4 main text figures, methods, 3 Extended Data items, and 5 Supplementary Information items

We report observations of the atmospheric transmission spectrum of the sub-Neptune exoplanet GJ 3470 b taken using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on JWST. Combined with two archival HST/WFC3 transit observations and fifteen archival Spitzer transit observations, we detect water, methane, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of GJ 3470 b, each with a significance of >3-sigma. GJ 3470 b is the lowest mass -- and coldest -- exoplanet known to show a substantial sulfur dioxide feature in its spectrum, at $M_{p}$=11.2${\,{\rm M}_{\oplus}}$ and $T_{eq}$=600$\,$K. This indicates disequilibrium photochemistry drives sulfur dioxide production in exoplanet atmospheres over a wider range of masses and temperatures than has been reported or expected. The water, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide abundances we measure indicate an atmospheric metallicity of approximately $100\times$ Solar. We see further evidence for disequilibrium chemistry in our inferred methane abundance, which is significantly lower than expected from equilibrium models consistent with our measured water and carbon dioxide abundances., Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables. Accepted in Astrophysical Journal Letters

Interactions between exoplanetary atmospheres and internal properties have long been hypothesized to be drivers of the inflation mechanisms of gaseous planets and apparent atmospheric chemical disequilibrium conditions. However, transmission spectra of exoplanets has been limited in its ability to observational confirm these theories due to the limited wavelength coverage of HST and inferences of single molecules, mostly H$_2$O. In this work, we present the panchromatic transmission spectrum of the approximately 750 K, low-density, Neptune-sized exoplanet WASP-107b using a combination of HST WFC3, JWST NIRCam and MIRI. From this spectrum, we detect spectroscopic features due to H$_2$O (21$\sigma$), CH$_4$ (5$\sigma$), CO (7$\sigma$), CO$_2$ (29$\sigma$), SO$_2$ (9$\sigma$), and NH$_3$ (6$\sigma$). The presence of these molecules enable constraints on the atmospheric metal enrichment (M/H is 10--18$\times$ Solar), vertical mixing strength (log$_{10}$K$_{zz}$=8.4--9.0 cm$^2$s$^{-1}$), and internal temperature ($>$345 K). The high internal temperature is suggestive of tidally-driven inflation acting upon a Neptune-like internal structure, which can naturally explain the planet's large radius and low density. These findings suggest that eccentricity driven tidal heating is a critical process governing atmospheric chemistry and interior structure inferences for a majority of the cool ($<$1,000K) super-Earth-to-Saturn mass exoplanet population., Comment: This preprint has not undergone any substantive post-submission improvements or corrections. The Version of Record of this article is published in Nature here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07514-w

Observations of debris disks offer important insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Though M dwarfs make up approximately 80% of nearby stars, very few M-dwarf debris disks have been studied in detail -- making it unclear how or if the information gleaned from studying debris disks around more massive stars extends to the more abundant M dwarf systems. We report the first scattered-light detection of the debris disk around the M4 star Fomalhaut C using JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam; 3.6$~\mu$m and 4.4$~\mu$m). This result adds to the prior sample of only four M-dwarf debris disks with detections in scattered light, and marks the latest spectral type and oldest star among them. The size and orientation of the disk in these data are generally consistent with the prior ALMA sub-mm detection. Though no companions are identified, these data provide strong constraints on their presence -- with sensitivity sufficient to recover sub-Saturn mass objects in the vicinity of the disk. This result illustrates the unique capability of JWST for uncovering elusive M-dwarf debris disks in scattered light, and lays the groundwork for deeper studies of such objects in the 2--5$~\mu$m regime., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

As part of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program "Direct Imaging of YSOs" (program ID 1179), we use JWST NIRCam's direct imaging mode in F187N, F200W, F405N, and F410M to perform high contrast observations of the circumstellar structures surrounding the protostar HL Tau. The data reveal the known stellar envelope, outflow cavity, and streamers, but do not detect any companion candidates. We detect scattered light from an in-flowing spiral streamer previously detected in $\textrm{HCO}^+$ by ALMA, and part of the structure connected to the c-shaped outflow cavity. For detection limits in planet mass we use BEX evolutionary tracks when $M_\textrm{p}<2M_\textrm{J}$ and AMES-COND evolutionary tracks otherwise, assuming a planet age of 1 Myr (youngest available age). Inside the disk region, due to extended envelope emission, our point-source sensitivities are $\sim5$ mJy ($37~M_{\rm J}$) at 40 AU in F187N, and $\sim0.37$ mJy ($5.2~M_{\rm J}$) at 140 AU in F405N. Outside the disk region, the deepest limits we can reach are $\sim0.01$ mJy ($0.75~M_{\rm J}$) at a projected separation of $\sim525$ AU., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted to AAS Astronomical Journal

The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) marks a pivotal moment for precise atmospheric characterization of Y dwarfs, the coldest brown dwarf spectral type. In this study, we leverage moderate spectral resolution observations (R $\sim$ 2700) with the G395H grating of the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard of JWST to characterize the nearby (9.9 pc) Y dwarf WISEPA J182831.08+265037.8 (WISE 1828). With the NIRSpec G395H 2.88-5.12 $\mathrm{\mu}$m spectrum, we measure the abundances of CO, CO$_2$, CH$_4$, H$_2$S, NH$_3$, and H$_2$O, which are the major carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur bearing species in the atmosphere. Based on the retrieved volume mixing ratios with the atmospheric retrieval framework CHIMERA, we report that the C/O ratio is $0.45 \pm 0.01$, close to the solar C/O value of 0.55, and the metallicity to be +0.30 $\pm$ 0.02 dex. Comparison between the retrieval results with the forward modeling results suggests that the model bias for C/O and metallicity could be as high as 0.03 and 0.97 dex respectively. We also report a lower limit of the $^{12}$CO/$^{13}$CO ratio of $>40 $, being consistent with the nominal solar value of 90. Our results highlight the potential of JWST in measuring the C/O ratios down to percent-level precision and characterizing isotopologues of cold planetary atmospheres similar to WISE 1828., Comment: 18 pages + references, including 11 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

Sun-like stars are thought to accrete most of their final mass during the protostellar phase, during which the stellar embryo is surrounded by an infalling dense envelope. We present an analysis of 26 $K$-band spectra of Class 0 protostars, which are the youngest protostars. 18 of these are new observations made with the Keck MOSFIRE instrument. HI Br$\gamma$ , several H$_2$, and CO $\Delta\,v\;=\;2$ features are detected and analyzed. We detect Br$\gamma$ emission in 62%, CO overtone emission in 50%, and H$_2$ emission in 90% of sources. The HI and CO emission is associated with accretion while the H$_2$ lines are consistent with shock excitation indicating jets/outflows. Six objects exhibit photospheric absorption features, with almost no outflow activity, and no detection of the accretion-related Br$\gamma$ emission line. Comparing these results with archival sample of Class I $K$-band spectra, we find that the CO and Br$\gamma$ emission lines are systematically more luminous in Class 0s, suggesting the accretion is on average more vigorous in the Class 0 phase. Typically associated with the heated inner accretion disk, the much higher detection rate of CO overtone emission in Class 0s indicate also that episodes of high accretion activity are more frequent in Class 0 systems. The kinematics of the Class 0 CO overtone emission suggest either an accretion-heated inner disk, or material directly infalling onto the central region. This could point toward an accretion mechanism of different nature in Class 0 systems than the typical picture of magnetospheric accretion.

The isolated globule B335 contains a single, low luminosity Class 0 protostar associated with a bipolar nebula and outflow system seen nearly perpendicular to its axis. We observed the innermost regions of this outflow as part of JWST/NIRCam GTO program 1187, primarily intended for wide-field slitless spectroscopy of background stars behind the globule. We find a system of expanding shock fronts with kinematic ages of only a few decades emerging symmetrically from the position of the embedded protostar, which is not directly detected at NIRCam wavelengths. The innermost and youngest of the shock fronts studied here shows strong emission from CO. The next older shock front shows less CO and the third shock front shows only H_2 emission in our data. This third and most distant of these inner shock fronts shows substantial evolution of its shape since it was last observed with high spatial resolution in 1996 with Keck/NIRC. This may be evidence of a faster internal shock catching up with a slower one and of the two shocks merging., Comment: This paper is accepted by The Astronomical Journal

We present JWST/NIRCam F187N, F200W, F405N and F410M direct imaging data of the disk surrounding SAO 206462. Previous images show a very structured disk, with a pair of spiral arms thought to be launched by one or more external perturbers. The spiral features are visible in three of the four filters, with the non-detection in F410M due to the large detector saturation radius. We detect with a signal-to-noise ratio of 4.4 a companion candidate (CC1) that, if on a coplanar circular orbit, would orbit SAO 206462 at a separation of $\sim300$ au, $2.25\sigma$ away from the predicted separation for the driver of the eastern spiral. According to the BEX models, CC1 has a mass of $M_\mathrm{CC1}=0.8\pm0.3~M_\mathrm{J}$. No other companion candidates were detected. At the location predicted by simulations of both spirals generated by a single massive companion, the NIRCam data exclude objects more massive than $\sim2.2~M_\mathrm{J}$ assuming the BEX evolutionary models. In terms of temperatures, the data are sensitive to objects with $T_{\text{eff}}\sim650-850$ K, when assuming planets emit like blackbodies ($R_\mathrm{p}$ between 1 and $3 R_\mathrm{J}$). From these results, we conclude that if the spirals are driven by gas giants, these must be either cold or embedded in circumplanetary material. In addition, the NIRCam data provide tight constraints on ongoing accretion processes. In the low extinction scenario we are sensitive to mass accretion rates of the order $\dot{M}\sim10^{-9} M_\mathrm{J}$ yr$^{-1}$. Thanks to the longer wavelengths used to search for emission lines, we reach unprecedented sensitivities to processes with $\dot{M}\sim10^{-7} M_\mathrm{J}$ yr$^{-1}$ even towards highly extincted environments ($A_\mathrm{V}\approx50$~mag)., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables

MWC 758 is a young star hosting a spiral protoplanetary disk. The spirals are likely companion-driven, and two previously-identified candidate companions have been identified -- one at the end the Southern spiral arm at ~0.6 arcsec, and one interior to the gap at ~0.1 arcsec. With JWST/NIRCam, we provide new images of the disk and constraints on planets exterior to ~1". We detect the two-armed spiral disk, a known background star, and a spatially resolved background galaxy, but no clear companions. The candidates that have been reported are at separations that are not probed by our data with sensitivity sufficient to detect them -- nevertheless, these observations place new limits on companions down to ~2 Jupiter-masses at ~150 au and ~0.5 Jupiter masses at ~600 au. Owing to the unprecedented sensitivity of JWST and youth of the target, these are among the deepest mass-detection limits yet obtained through direct imaging observations, and provide new insights into the system's dynamical nature., Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ

WASP-107b is a warm ($\sim$740 K) transiting planet with a Neptune-like mass of $\sim$30.5 $M_{\oplus}$ and Jupiter-like radius of $\sim$0.94 $R_{\rm J}$, whose extended atmosphere is eroding. Previous observations showed evidence for water vapour and a thick high-altitude condensate layer in WASP-107b's atmosphere. Recently, photochemically produced sulphur dioxide (SO$_2$) was detected in the atmosphere of a hot ($\sim$1,200 K) Saturn-mass planet from transmission spectroscopy near 4.05 $\mu$m, but for temperatures below $\sim$1,000 K sulphur is predicted to preferably form sulphur allotropes instead of SO$_2$. Here we report the 9$\sigma$-detection of two fundamental vibration bands of SO$_2$, at 7.35 $\mu$m and 8.69 $\mu$m, in the transmission spectrum of WASP-107b using the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the JWST. This discovery establishes WASP-107b as the second irradiated exoplanet with confirmed photochemistry, extending the temperature range of exoplanets exhibiting detected photochemistry from $\sim$1,200 K down to $\sim$740 K. Additionally, our spectral analysis reveals the presence of silicate clouds, which are strongly favoured ($\sim$7$\sigma$) over simpler cloud setups. Furthermore, water is detected ($\sim$12$\sigma$), but methane is not. These findings provide evidence of disequilibrium chemistry and indicate a dynamically active atmosphere with a super-solar metallicity.

Ultra-cool dwarf stars are abundant, long-lived, and uniquely suited to enable the atmospheric study of transiting terrestrial companions with JWST. Amongst them, the most prominent is the M8.5V star TRAPPIST-1 and its seven planets. While JWST Cycle 1 observations have started to yield preliminary insights into the planets, they have also revealed that their atmospheric exploration requires a better understanding of their host star. Here, we propose a roadmap to characterize the TRAPPIST-1 system -- and others like it -- in an efficient and robust manner. We notably recommend that -- although more challenging to schedule -- multi-transit windows be prioritized to mitigate the effects of stellar activity and gather up to twice more transits per JWST hour spent. We conclude that, for such systems, planets cannot be studied in isolation by small programs, but rather need large-scale, jointly space- and ground-based initiatives to fully exploit the capabilities of JWST for the exploration of terrestrial planets.

We report observations with the JWST/NIRCam coronagraph of the Fomalhaut system. This nearby A star hosts a complex debris disk system discovered by the IRAS satellite. Observations in F444W and F356W filters using the round 430R mask achieve a contrast ratio of ~ 4 x 10-7 at 1'' and ~ 4 x 10-8 outside of 3''. These observations reach a sensitivity limit <1 MJup across most of the disk region. Consistent with the hypothesis that Fomalhaut b is not a massive planet but is a dust cloud from a planetesimal collision, we do not detect it in either F356W or F444W (the latter band where a Jovian-sized planet should be bright). We have reliably detected 10 sources in and around Fomalhaut and its debris disk, all but one of which are coincident with Keck or HST sources seen in earlier coronagraphic imaging; we show them to be background objects, including the "Great Dust Cloud" identified in MIRI data. However, one of the objects, located at the edge of the inner dust disk seen in the MIRI images, has no obvious counterpart in imaging at earlier epochs and has a relatively red [F356W]-[F444W]>0.7 mag (Vega) color. Whether this object is a background galaxy, brown dwarf, or a Jovian mass planet in the Fomalhaut system will be determined by an approved Cycle 2 follow-up program. Finally, we set upper limits to any scattered light from the outer ring, placing a weak limit on the dust albedo at F356W and F444W., Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures

Over the last decade, precise exoplanet transmission spectroscopy has revealed the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, driven largely by observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. One major discovery has been the ubiquity of atmospheric aerosols, often blocking access to exoplanet chemical inventories. Tentative trends have been identified, showing that the clarity of planetary atmospheres may depend on equilibrium temperature. Previous work has often grouped dissimilar planets together in order to increase the statistical power of any trends, but it remains unclear from observed transmission spectra whether these planets exhibit the same atmospheric physics and chemistry. We present a re-analysis of a smaller, more physically similar sample of 15 exo-Neptune transmission spectra across a wide range of temperatures (200-1000 K). Using condensation cloud and hydrocarbon haze models, we find that the exo-Neptune population is best described by low cloud sedimentation efficiency ($\mathrm{f_{sed}}\sim0.1$) and high metallicity ($100\times$ Solar). There is an intrinsic scatter of $\sim0.5$ scale height, perhaps evidence of stochasticity in these planets' formation processes. Observers should expect significant attenuation in transmission spectra of Neptune-size exoplanets, up to 6 scale heights for equilibrium temperatures between 500 and 800 K. With JWST's greater wavelength sensitivity, colder (<500 K) planets should be high-priority targets given their clearer atmospheres, and the need to distinguish between the "super-puffs" and more typical gas-dominated planets., Comment: Published in ApJL. 11 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables

HISPEC is a new, high-resolution near-infrared spectrograph being designed for the W.M. Keck II telescope. By offering single-shot, R=100,000 between 0.98 - 2.5 um, HISPEC will enable spectroscopy of transiting and non-transiting exoplanets in close orbits, direct high-contrast detection and spectroscopy of spatially separated substellar companions, and exoplanet dynamical mass and orbit measurements using precision radial velocity monitoring calibrated with a suite of state-of-the-art absolute and relative wavelength references. MODHIS is the counterpart to HISPEC for the Thirty Meter Telescope and is being developed in parallel with similar scientific goals. In this proceeding, we provide a brief overview of the current design of both instruments, and the requirements for the two spectrographs as guided by the scientific goals for each. We then outline the current science case for HISPEC and MODHIS, with focuses on the science enabled for exoplanet discovery and characterization. We also provide updated sensitivity curves for both instruments, in terms of both signal-to-noise ratio and predicted radial velocity precision., Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of SPIE: Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680 (2023)

Recent work on the characterization of small exoplanets has allowed us to accumulate growing evidence that the sub-Neptunes with radii greater than $\sim2.5\,R_\oplus$ often host H$_2$/He-dominated atmospheres both from measurements of their low bulk densities and direct detections of their low mean-molecular-mass atmospheres. However, the smaller sub-Neptunes in the 1.5-2.2 R$_\oplus$ size regime are much less understood, and often have bulk densities that can be explained either by the H$_2$/He-rich scenario, or by a volatile-dominated composition known as the "water world" scenario. Here, we report the detection of water vapor in the transmission spectrum of the $1.96\pm0.08$ R$_\oplus$ sub-Neptune GJ9827d obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. We observed 11 HST/WFC3 transits of GJ9827d and find an absorption feature at 1.4$\mu$m in its transit spectrum, which is best explained (at 3.39$\sigma$) by the presence of water in GJ9827d's atmosphere. We further show that this feature cannot be caused by unnoculted star spots during the transits by combining an analysis of the K2 photometry and transit light-source effect retrievals. We reveal that the water absorption feature can be similarly well explained by a small amount of water vapor in a cloudy H$_2$/He atmosphere, or by a water vapor envelope on GJ9827d. Given that recent studies have inferred an important mass-loss rate ($>0.5\,$M$_\oplus$/Gyr) for GJ9827d making it unlikely to retain a H-dominated envelope, our findings highlight GJ9827d as a promising water world candidate that could host a volatile-dominated atmosphere. This water detection also makes GJ9827d the smallest exoplanet with an atmospheric molecular detection to date., Comment: Published in ApJL, 11 pages, 6 figures

The abundances of major carbon and oxygen bearing gases in the atmospheres of giant exoplanets provide insights into atmospheric chemistry and planet formation processes. Thermochemistry suggests that methane should be the dominant carbon-bearing species below $\sim$1000 K over a range of plausible atmospheric compositions; this is the case for the Solar System planets and has been confirmed in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and self-luminous directly imaged exoplanets. However, methane has not yet been definitively detected with space-based spectroscopy in the atmosphere of a transiting exoplanet, but a few detections have been made with ground-based, high-resolution transit spectroscopy including a tentative detection for WASP-80b. Here we report transmission and emission spectra spanning 2.4-4.0 micrometers of the 825 K warm Jupiter WASP-80b taken with JWST's NIRCam instrument, both of which show strong evidence for methane at greater than 6-sigma significance. The derived methane abundances from both viewing geometries are consistent with each other and with solar to sub-solar C/O and ~5$\times$ solar metallicity, which is consistent with theoretical predictions., Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. This preprint has been submitted to and accepted in principle for publication in Nature without significant changes

High-contrast imaging of debris disk systems permits us to assess the composition and size distribution of circumstellar dust, to probe recent dynamical histories, and to directly detect and characterize embedded exoplanets. Observations of these systems in the infrared beyond 2--3 $\mu$m promise access to both extremely favorable planet contrasts and numerous scattered-light spectral features -- but have typically been inhibited by the brightness of the sky at these wavelengths. We present coronagraphy of the AU Microscopii (AU Mic) system using JWST's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) in two filters spanning 3--5 $\mu$m. These data provide the first images of the system's famous debris disk at these wavelengths and permit additional constraints on its properties and morphology. Conducting a deep search for companions in these data, we do not identify any compelling candidates. However, with sensitivity sufficient to recover planets as small as $\sim 0.1$ Jupiter masses beyond $\sim 2^{\prime\prime}$ ($\sim 20$ au) with $5\sigma$ confidence, these data place significant constraints on any massive companions that might still remain at large separations and provide additional context for the compact, multi-planet system orbiting very close-in. The observations presented here highlight NIRCam's unique capabilities for probing similar disks in this largely unexplored wavelength range, and provide the deepest direct imaging constraints on wide-orbit giant planets in this very well studied benchmark system., Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit., Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figures

The TRAPPIST-1 system is remarkable for its seven planets that are similar in size, mass, density, and stellar heating to the rocky planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in our own Solar System (Gillon et al. 2017). All TRAPPIST-1 planets have been observed with the transmission spectroscopy technique using the Hubble or Spitzer Space Telescopes, but no atmospheric features have been detected or strongly constrained (Ducrot et al. 2018; de Wit et al. 2018; Zhang et al. 2018; Garcia et al. 2022). TRAPPIST-1 b is the closest planet to the system's M dwarf star, and it receives 4 times as much irradiation as Earth receives from the Sun. This relatively large amount of stellar heating suggests that its thermal emission may be measurable. Here we present photometric secondary eclipse observations of the Earth-sized TRAPPIST-1 b exoplanet using the F1500W filter of the MIRI instrument on JWST. We detect the secondary eclipse in each of five separate observations with 8.7-$\sigma$ confidence when all data are combined. These measurements are most consistent with the re-radiation of the TRAPPIST-1 star's incident flux from only the dayside hemisphere of the planet. The most straightforward interpretation is that there is little or no planetary atmosphere redistributing radiation from the host star and also no detectable atmospheric absorption from carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) or other species., Comment: This preprint has not undergone any substantive post-submission improvements or corrections. The Version of Record of this article is published in Nature here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05951-7

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})., Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures Accepted for publication in PASP

We use JWST NIRCam short wavelength photometry to capture a transit lightcurve of the exoplanet HAT-P-14 b to assess performance as part of instrument commissioning. The short wavelength precision is 152 ppm per 27 second integration as measured over the full time series compared to a theoretical limit of 107 ppm, after corrections to spatially correlated 1/f noise. Persistence effects from charge trapping are well fit by an exponential function with short characteristic timescales, settling on the order of 5-15 minutes. The short wavelength defocused photometry is also uniquely well suited to measure the realtime wavefront error of JWST. Analysis of the images and reconstructed wavefront maps indicate that two different hexagonal primary mirror segments exhibited "tilt events" where they changed orientation rapidly in less than ~1.4 seconds. In some cases, the magnitude and timing of the flux jumps caused by tilt events can be accurately predicted with a telescope model. These tilt events can be sensed by simultaneous longer-wavelength NIRCam grism spectral images alone in the form of changes to the point spread function, diagnosed from the FWHM. They can also be sensed with the FGS instrument from difference images. Tilt events possibly from sudden releases of stress in the backplane structure behind the mirrors were expected during the commissioning period because they were found in ground-based testing. Tilt events have shown signs of decreasing in frequency but have not disappeared completely. The detectors exhibit some minor (less than 1%) deviations from linear behavior in the first few groups of each integration, potentially impacting absolute fluxes and transit depths on bright targets where only a handful of groups are possible. Overall, the noise is within 50% of the theoretical photon noise and read noise. This bodes well for high precision time series measurements., Comment: PASP, Accepted for Publication

We present here the first ever mid-infrared spectroscopic time series observation of the transiting exoplanet \object{L 168-9 b} with the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained as part of the MIRI commissioning activities, to characterize the performance of the Low Resolution Spectroscopy (LRS) mode for these challenging observations. To assess the MIRI LRS performance, we performed two independent analyses of the data. We find that with a single transit observation we reached a spectro-photometric precision of $\sim$50 ppm in the 7-8 \micron range at R=50, consistent with $\sim$25 ppm systematic noise. The derived band averaged transit depth is 524 $\pm$ 15 ppm and 547 $\pm$ 13 ppm for the two applied analysis methods, respectively, recovering the known transit depth to within 1 $\sigma$. The measured noise in the planet's transmission spectrum is approximately 15-20 \% higher than random noise simulations over wavelengths $6.8 \lesssim \lambda \lesssim 11$ $\mu$m. \added{We observed an larger excess noise at the shortest wavelengths of up to a factor of two, for which possible causes are discussed.} This performance was achieved with limited in-flight calibration data, demonstrating the future potential of MIRI for the characterization of exoplanet atmospheres., Comment: Accepted for publishing in PASP, 21 pages, 10 figures

We report on JWST commissioning observations of the transiting exoplanet HAT-P-14 b, obtained using the Bright Object Time Series (BOTS) mode of the NIRSpec instrument with the G395H/F290LP grating/filter combination ($3-5\mu$m). While the data were used primarily to verify that the NIRSpec BOTS mode is working as expected, and to enable it for general scientific use, they yield a precise transmission spectrum which we find is featureless down to the precision level of the instrument, consistent with expectations given HAT-P-14~b's small scale-height and hence expected atmospheric features. The exquisite quality and stability of the \emph{JWST/NIRSpec} transit spectrum -- almost devoid of any systematic effects -- allowed us to obtain median uncertainties of 50-60 ppm in this wavelength range at a resolution of $R=100$ in a single exposure, which is in excellent agreement with pre-flight expectations and close to the (or at the) photon-noise limit for a $J = 9.094$, F-type star like HAT-P-14. These observations showcase the ability of NIRSpec/BOTS to perform cutting-edge transiting exoplanet atmospheric science, setting the stage for observations and discoveries to be made in Cycle 1 and beyond., Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures; part of the PASP Focus Issue "JWST Time-Series Observations: Commissioning Performance". Paper after the first round of referee comments; inputs welcome

We present a sample of four emission-line galaxies at $z=6.11-6.35$ that were serendipitously discovered using the commissioning data for the JWST/NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) mode. One of them (at $z=6.11$) has been reported previously while the others are new discoveries. These sources are selected by the secure detections of both [O III] $\lambda$5007 and H$\alpha$ lines with other fainter lines tentatively detected in some cases (e.g., [O II] $\lambda$3727, [O III] $\lambda$4959). In the [O III]/H$\beta$ - [N II]/H$\alpha$ Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagram, these galaxies occupy the same parameter space as that of $z\sim2$ star-forming galaxies, indicating that they have been enriched rapidly to sub-solar metallicities ($\sim$0.4 $Z_{\odot}$), similar to galaxies with comparable stellar masses at much lower redshifts. The detection of strong H$\alpha$ lines suggests a higher ionizing photon production efficiency within galaxies in the early Universe. We find brightening of the [O III] $\lambda$5007 line luminosity function (LF) from $z=3$ to 6, and weak or no redshift evolution of the H$\alpha$ line LF from $z=2$ to 6. Both LFs are under-predicted at $z\sim6$ by a factor of $\sim$10 in certain cosmological simulations. This further indicates a global Ly$\alpha$ photon escape fraction of 7-10% at $z\sim6$, slightly lower than previous estimates through the comparison of the UV-derived star-formation rate density and Ly$\alpha$ luminosity density. Our sample recovers $66^{+128}_{-44}$% of $z=6.0-6.6$ galaxies in the survey volume with stellar masses greater than $5\times10^8$ $M_{\odot}$, suggesting the ubiquity of strong H$\alpha$ and [O III] line emitters in the Epoch of Reionization, which will be further uncovered in the era of JWST., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ on May 11, 2023

We present the design of SCALES (Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy) a new 2-5 micron coronagraphic integral field spectrograph under construction for Keck Observatory. SCALES enables low-resolution (R~50) spectroscopy, as well as medium-resolution (R~4,000) spectroscopy with the goal of discovering and characterizing cold exoplanets that are brightest in the thermal infrared. Additionally, SCALES has a 12x12" field-of-view imager that will be used for general adaptive optics science at Keck. We present SCALES's specifications, its science case, its overall design, and simulations of its expected performance. Additionally, we present progress on procuring, fabricating and testing long lead-time components., Comment: 19 pages, 12 Figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, (#12184-18), 2022, Montreal, Canada

In a cold and stable space environment, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST or "Webb") reaches unprecedented sensitivities at wavelengths beyond 2 microns, serving most fields of astrophysics. It also extends the parameter space of high-contrast imaging in the near and mid-infrared. Launched in late 2021, JWST underwent a six month commissioning period. In this contribution we focus on the NIRCam Coronagraphy mode which was declared "science ready" on July 10 2022, the last of the 17 JWST observing modes. Essentially, this mode will allow to detect fainter/redder/colder (less massive for a given age) self-luminous exoplanets as well as other faint astrophysical signal in the vicinity of any bright object (stars or galaxies). Here we describe some of the steps and hurdles the commissioning team went through to achieve excellent performances. Specifically, we focus on the Coronagraphic Suppression Verification activity. We were able to produce firm detections at 3.35$\mu$m of the white dwarf companion HD 114174 B which is at a separation of $\simeq$ 0.5" and a contrast of $\simeq$ 10 magnitudes ($10^{4}$ fainter than the K$\sim$5.3 mag host star). We compare these first on-sky images with our latest, most informed and realistic end-to-end simulations through the same pipeline. Additionally we provide information on how we succeeded with the target acquisition with all five NIRCam focal plane masks and their four corresponding wedged Lyot stops., Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation (2022)

We report the serendipitous discovery of an [O III] $\lambda\lambda$4959/5007 and H$\alpha$ line emitter in the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) with the JWST commissioning data taken in the NIRCam wide field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) mode. Located $\sim$55" away from the flux calibrator P330-E, this galaxy exhibits bright [O III] $\lambda\lambda$4959/5007 and H$\alpha$ lines detected at 3.7, 9.9 and 5.7$\sigma$, respectively, with a spectroscopic redshift of $z=6.112\pm0.001$. The total H$\beta$+[O III] equivalent width is 664$\pm$98 \r{A} (454$\pm$78 \r{A} from the [O III] $\lambda$5007 line). This provides direct spectroscopic evidence for the presence of strong rest-frame optical lines (H$\beta$+[O III] and H$\alpha$) in EoR galaxies as inferred previously from the analyses of Spitzer/IRAC spectral energy distributions. Two spatial and velocity components are identified in this source, possibly indicating that this system is undergoing a major merger, which might have triggered the ongoing starburst with strong nebular emission lines over a timescale of $\sim$2 Myr as our SED modeling suggests. The tentative detection of He II $\lambda$4686 line ($1.9\sigma$), if real, may indicate the existence of very young and metal-poor star-forming regions with a hard UV radiation field. Finally, this discovery demonstrates the power and readiness of the JWST/NIRCam WFSS mode, and marks the beginning of a new era for extragalactic astronomy, in which EoR galaxies can be routinely discovered via blind slitless spectroscopy through the detection of rest-frame optical emission lines., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published in the ApJL

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies., Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb293

We report observations of the recently discovered warm Neptune TOI-674 b (5.25 \rearth{}, 23.6 \mearth{}) with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. TOI-674 b is in the Neptune desert, an observed paucity of Neptune-size exoplanets at short orbital periods. Planets in the desert are thought to have complex evolutionary histories due to photoevaporative mass loss or orbital migration, making identifying the constituents of their atmospheres critical to understanding their origins. We obtained near-infrared transmission spectroscopy of the planet's atmosphere with the G141 grism. After extracting, detrending, and fitting the spectral lightcurves to measure the planet's transmission spectrum, we used the petitRADTRANS atmospheric spectral synthesis code to perform retrievals on the planet's atmosphere to identify which absorbers are present. These results show moderate evidence for increased absorption at 1.4 $\mu$m due to water vapor at 2.9$\sigma$ (Bayes factor = 15.8), as well as weak evidence for the presence of clouds at 2.2$\sigma$ (Bayes factor = 4.0). TOI-674 b is a strong candidate for further study to refine the water abundance, which is poorly constrained by our data. We also incorporated new TESS short-cadence optical photometry, as well as Spitzer/IRAC data, and re-fit the transit parameters for the planet. We find the planet to have the following transit parameters: $R_p/R_* = 0.1135\pm0.0006$, $T_0 = 2458544.523792\pm0.000452$ BJD, and $P = 1.977198\pm0.00007$ d. These measurements refine the planet radius estimate and improve the orbital ephemerides for future transit spectroscopy observations of this highly intriguing warm Neptune., Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal. 20 pages, 17 figures

The direct measurement of the Universe's expansion history and the search for terrestrial planets in habitable zones around solar-type stars require extremely high-precision radial velocity measures over a decade. This study proposes an approach for enabling high-precision radial velocity measurements from space. The concept presents a combination of a high-dispersion densified pupil spectrograph and a novel telescope line-of-sight monitor. The precision of the radial velocity measurements is determined by combining the spectrophotometric accuracy and the quality of the absorption lines in the recorded spectrum. Therefore, a highly dispersive densified pupil spectrograph proposed to perform stable spectroscopy can be utilized for high-precision radial velocity measures. A concept involving the telescope line-of-sight monitor is developed to minimize the change of the telescope line-of-sight over a decade. This monitor allows the precise measurement of a long-term telescope drift without any significant impact on the Airy disk when the densified pupil spectra are recorded. We analytically derive the uncertainty of the radial velocity measurements, which is caused by the residual offset of the line-of-sights at two epochs. We find that the error could be reduced down to approximately 1 $cm/s$, and the precision will be limited by another factor (e.g., wavelength calibration uncertainty). A combination of the high precision spectrophotometry and the high spectral resolving power could open a new path toward the characterization of nearby non-transiting habitable planet candidates orbiting late-type stars. We present two simple and compact high-dispersed densified pupil spectrograph designs for the cosmology and exoplanet sciences., Comment: 37 pages, 18 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

Exoplanets with radii between those of Earth and Neptune have stronger surface gravity than Earth, and can retain a sizable hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. In contrast to gas giant planets, we call these planets gas dwarf planets. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will offer unprecedented insight into these planets. Here, we investigate the detectability of ammonia (NH$_{3}$, a potential biosignature) in the atmospheres of seven temperate gas dwarf planets using various JWST instruments. We use petitRadTRANS and PandExo to model planet atmospheres and simulate JWST observations under different scenarios by varying cloud conditions, mean molecular weights (MMWs), and NH$_{3}$ mixing ratios. A metric is defined to quantify detection significance and provide a ranked list for JWST observations in search of biosignatures in gas dwarf planets. It is very challenging to search for the 10.3--10.8 $\mu$m NH$_{3}$ feature using eclipse spectroscopy with MIRI in the presence of photon and a systemic noise floor of 12.6 ppm for 10 eclipses. NIRISS, NIRSpec, and MIRI are feasible for transmission spectroscopy to detect NH$_{3}$ features from 1.5 $\mu$m to 6.1 $\mu$m under optimal conditions such as a clear atmosphere and low MMWs for a number of gas dwarf planets. We provide examples of retrieval analyses to further support the detection metric that we use. Our study shows that searching for potential biosignatures such as NH$_{3}$ is feasible with a reasonable investment of JWST time for gas dwarf planets given optimal atmospheric conditions., Comment: (21 pages, 16 figures, Accepted to ApJ)

Pandora is a SmallSat mission designed to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, and was selected as part of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers Program. Transmission spectroscopy of transiting exoplanets provides our best opportunity to identify the makeup of planetary atmospheres in the coming decade. Stellar brightness variations due to star spots, however, can impact these measurements and contaminate the observed spectra. Pandora's goal is to disentangle star and planet signals in transmission spectra to reliably determine exoplanet atmosphere compositions. Pandora will collect long-duration photometric observations with a visible-light channel and simultaneous spectra with a near-IR channel. The broad-wavelength coverage will provide constraints on the spot and faculae covering fractions of low-mass exoplanet host stars and the impact of these active regions on exoplanetary transmission spectra. Pandora will subsequently identify exoplanets with hydrogen- or water-dominated atmospheres, and robustly determine which planets are covered by clouds and hazes. Pandora will observe at least 20 exoplanets with sizes ranging from Earth-size to Jupiter-size and host stars spanning mid-K to late-M spectral types. The project is made possible by leveraging investments in other projects, including an all-aluminum 0.45-meter Cassegrain telescope design, and a NIR sensor chip assembly from the James Webb Space Telescope. The mission will last five years from initial formulation to closeout, with one-year of science operations. Launch is planned for the mid-2020s as a secondary payload in Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit. By design, Pandora has a diverse team, with over half of the mission leadership roles filled by early career scientists and engineers, demonstrating the high value of SmallSats for developing the next generation of space mission leaders., Comment: Proceedings of the Small Satellite Conference, Science/Mission Payloads, SSC21-VI-02 (2021)

We present a transmission spectrum for the warm (500-600K) sub-Neptune HD3167c obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 infrared spectrograph. We combine these data, which span the 1.125-1.643 micron wavelength range, with broadband transit measurements made using Kepler/K2 (0.6-0.9 micron) and Spitzer/IRAC (4-5 micron). We find evidence for absorption by at least one of H2O, HCN, CO2, and CH4 (Bayes factor 7.4; 2.5-sigma significance), although the data precision does not allow us to unambiguously discriminate between these molecules. The transmission spectrum rules out cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmospheres with metallicities <100x solar at >5.8-sigma confidence. In contrast, good agreement with the data is obtained for cloud-free models assuming metallicities >700x solar. However, for retrieval analyses that include the effect of clouds, a much broader range of metallicities (including subsolar) is consistent with the data, due to the degeneracy with cloud-top pressure. Self-consistent chemistry models that account for photochemistry and vertical mixing are presented for the atmosphere of HD3167c. The predictions of these models are broadly consistent with our abundance constraints, although this is primarily due to the large uncertainties on the latter. Interior structure models suggest the core mass fraction is >40%, independent of a rock or water core composition, and independent of atmospheric envelope metallicity up to 1000x solar. We also report abundance measurements for fifteen elements in the host star, showing that it has a very nearly solar composition., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

JWST holds great promise in characterizing atmospheres of transiting exoplanets, potentially providing insights into Earth-sized planets within the habitable zones of M dwarf host stars if photon-limited performance can be achieved. Here, we discuss the systematic error sources that are expected to be present in grism time series observations with the NIRCam instrument. We find that pointing jitter and high gain antenna moves on top of the detectors' subpixel crosshatch patterns will produce relatively small variations (less than 6 parts per million, ppm). The time-dependent aperture losses due to thermal instabilities in the optics can also be kept to below 2 ppm. To achieve these low noise sources, it is important to employ a sufficiently large (more than 1.1 arcseconds) extraction aperture. Persistence due to charge trapping will have a minor (less than 3 ppm) effect on time series 20 minutes into an exposure and is expected to play a much smaller role than it does for the HST WFC3 detectors. We expect temperature fluctuations to be less than 3 ppm. In total, our estimated noise floor from known systematic error sources is only 9 ppm per visit. We do however urge caution as unknown systematic error sources could be present in flight and will only be measurable on astrophysical sources like quiescent stars. We find that reciprocity failure may introduce a perennial instrument offset at the 40 ppm level, so corrections may be needed when stitching together a multi-instrument multi-observatory spectrum over wide wavelength ranges., Comment: Published in AJ, 25 pages

JWST transmission and emission spectra will provide invaluable glimpses of transiting exoplanet atmospheres, including possible biosignatures. This promising science from JWST, however, will require exquisite precision and understanding of systematic errors that can impact the time series of planets crossing in front of and behind their host stars. Here, we provide estimates of the random noise sources affecting JWST NIRCam time-series data on the integration-to-integration level. We find that 1/f noise can limit the precision of grism time series for 2 groups (230 ppm to 1000 ppm depending on the extraction method and extraction parameters), but will average down like the square root of N frames/reads. The current NIRCam grism time series mode is especially affected by 1/f noise because its GRISMR dispersion direction is parallel to the detector fast-read direction, but could be alleviated in the GRISMC direction. Care should be taken to include as many frames as possible per visit to reduce this 1/f noise source: thus, we recommend the smallest detector subarray sizes one can tolerate, 4 output channels and readout modes that minimize the number of skipped frames (RAPID or BRIGHT2). We also describe a covariance weighting scheme that can significantly lower the contributions from 1/f noise as compared to sum extraction. We evaluate the noise introduced by pre-amplifier offsets, random telegraph noise, and high dark current RC pixels and find that these are correctable below 10 ppm once background subtraction and pixel masking are performed. We explore systematic error sources in a companion paper., Comment: Accepted to AJ

We present a transmission spectrum for the Neptune-size exoplanet HD 106315 c from optical to infrared wavelengths based on transit observations from the Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3, K2, and Spitzer. The spectrum shows tentative evidence for a water absorption feature in the $1.1 - 1.7\mu$m wavelength range with a small amplitude of 30 ppm (corresponding to just $0.8 \pm 0.04$ atmospheric scale heights). Based on an atmospheric retrieval analysis, the presence of water vapor is tentatively favored with a Bayes factor of 1.7 - 2.6 (depending on prior assumptions). The spectrum is most consistent with either enhanced metallicity, high altitude condensates, or both. Cloud-free solar composition atmospheres are ruled out at $>5\sigma$ confidence. We compare the spectrum to grids of cloudy and hazy forward models and find that the spectrum is fit well by models with moderate cloud lofting or haze formation efficiency, over a wide range of metallicities ($1 - 100\times$ solar). We combine the constraints on the envelope composition with an interior structure model and estimate that the core mass fraction is $\gtrsim0.3$. With a bulk composition reminiscent of that of Neptune and an orbital distance of 0.15 AU, HD 106315 c hints that planets may form out of broadly similar material and arrive at vastly different orbits later in their evolution., Comment: Submitted to AAS journals; 19 pages, 12 figures

Results from the Kepler mission indicate that the occurrence rate of small planets ($<3$ $R_\oplus$) in the habitable zone of nearby low-mass stars may be as high as 80%. Despite this abundance, probing the conditions and atmospheric properties on any habitable-zone planet is extremely difficult and has remained elusive to date. Here, we report the detection of water vapor and the likely presence of liquid and icy water clouds in the atmosphere of the $2.6$ $R_\oplus$ habitable-zone planet K2-18b. The simultaneous detection of water vapor and clouds in the mid-atmosphere of K2-18b is particularly intriguing because K2-18b receives virtually the same amount of total insolation from its host star ($1368_{-107}^{+114}$ W m$^{-2}$) as the Earth receives from the Sun (1361 W m$^{-2}$), resulting in the right conditions for water vapor to condense and explain the detected clouds. In this study, we observed nine transits of K2-18b using HST/WFC3 in order to achieve the necessary sensitivity to detect the water vapor, and we supplement this data set with Spitzer and K2 observations to obtain a broader wavelength coverage. While the thick hydrogen-dominated envelope we detect on K2-18b means that the planet is not a true Earth analog, our observations demonstrate that low-mass habitable-zone planets with the right conditions for liquid water are accessible with state-of-the-art telescopes., Comment: Published in ApJL, includes important updates to stellar and planet parameters