An overview of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project

Sabelhaus, Phillip A.; Campbell, Doug; Clampin, Mark; Decker, John; Greenhouse, M. A.; Johns, Alan; Menzel, Mike; Smith, Robert C.; Sullivan, Pam

doi:10.1117/12.612659

“…The HFF target clusters were selected based on their lensing power strength and their low/moderate zodiacal and Galactic background. The principal scientific aim of the HFF program is to investigate the high-redshift universe that can only be observed with deep HST observations, showing us first clues of the early universe that, starting next year, we could observe with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST; Sabelhaus et al 2005) in more detail.…”

Section: The Hubble Frontier Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Galaxy Starburst/Main-sequence Bimodality over Five Decades in Stellar Mass at z ≈ 3–6.5

Rinaldi

¹

,

Caputi

²

,

Mierlo

³

et al. 2022

ApJ

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We study the relation between stellar mass (M *) and star formation rate (SFR) for star-forming galaxies over approximately five decades in stellar mass ( 5.5 ≲ log 10 ( M * / M ⊙ ) ≲ 10.5 ) at z ≈ 3–6.5. This unprecedented coverage has been possible thanks to the joint analysis of blank non-lensed fields (COSMOS/SMUVS) and cluster lensing fields (Hubble Frontier Fields) that allow us to reach very low stellar masses. Previous works have revealed the existence of a clear bimodality in the SFR–M * plane with a star formation Main Sequence and a starburst cloud at z ≈ 4–5. Here we show that this bimodality extends to all star-forming galaxies and is valid in the whole redshift range z ≈ 3–6.5. We find that starbursts constitute at least ≈20% of all star-forming galaxies with M * ≳ 109 M ⊙ at these redshifts and reach a peak of 40% at z = 4–5. More importantly, 60%–90% of the total SFR budget at these redshifts is contained in starburst galaxies, indicating that the starburst mode of star formation is dominant at high redshifts. Almost all the low stellar mass starbursts with log 10 ( M * / M ⊙ ) ≲ 8.5 have ages comparable to the typical timescales of a starburst event, suggesting that these galaxies are being caught in the process of formation. Interestingly, galaxy formation models fail to predict the starburst/main-sequence bimodality and starbursts overall, suggesting that the starburst phenomenon may be driven by physical processes occurring at smaller scales than those probed by these models.

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“…The James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) is one the largest and most complex science programs ever undertaken, and is designed to answer forefront questions about the origins of planets, stars, and galaxies in the Universe [11][12][13]. Representing the next step in the evolution of space telescopes, Webb is built with innovative technologies to explore the Universe beyond Hubble and Spitzer's reach,…”

Section: The James Webb Space Telescopementioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope

Kalirai

¹

2018

Contemporary Physics

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For the past 400 years, astronomers have sought to observe and interpret the Universe by building more powerful telescopes. These incredible instruments extend the capabilities of one of our most important senses, sight, towards new limits such as increased sensitivity and resolution, new dimensions such as exploration of wavelengths across the full electromagnetic spectrum, new information content such as analysis through spectroscopy, and new cadences such as rapid time-series views of the variable sky. The results from these investments, from small to large telescopes on the ground and in space, have completely transformed our understanding of the Universe; including the discovery that Earth is not the center of the Universe, that the Milky Way is one among many galaxies in the Universe, that relic cosmic background radiation fills all space in the early Universe, that that the expansion rate of the Universe is accelerating, that exoplanets are common around stars, that gravitational waves exist, and much more. For modern astronomical research, the next wave of breakthroughs in fields ranging over planetary, stellar, galactic, and extragalactic science motivate a general-purpose observatory that is optimized at nearand mid-infrared wavelengths, and that has much greater sensitivity, resolution, and spectroscopic multiplexing than all previous telescopes. This scientific vision, from measuring the composition of rocky worlds in the nearby Milky Way galaxy to finding the first sources of light in the Universe to other topics at the forefront of modern astrophysics, motivates the state-of-the-art James Webb Space Telescope (Webb). In this review paper, I summarize the design and technical capabilities of Webb and the scientific opportunities that it enables.

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“…The space telescope consists of a 6.6 m diameter primary mirror which is divided into 18 hexagonal segments to make it deployable (a technical description can be found in, e.g., Sabelhaus et al (2005)). The telescope will be thermally shielded by an approximately 10 m × 23 m wide Sun shield to allow an operating temperature below 50 K. Four instruments are placed at the focal plane of the telescope, three working in the near-infrared (NirSpec, NirCam and FGS-TFI) and one working in the mid-infrared regime (MIRI = mid-infrared instrument).…”

Section: The James Webb Space Telescope and Its Mid-infrared Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular conductance of a contact-free labyrinth seal used for the contamination control of a cryogenic space instrument

Glauser

¹

,

Langer²,

Zehnder

³

2008

Meas. Sci. Technol.

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This study presents the molecular conductance measurement of a labyrinth seal introduced for the Contamination Control Cover which is protecting the cryogenic optical surfaces of the mid-infrared instrument of the James Webb Space Telescope against molecular contaminants from the environment. The conductance has been measured in the molecular pressure regime between 10−7 and 10−3 mbar within a temperature range of 300 K and 10 K for several typical components of the expected residual gas such as H2O, NH3, CO2, H2, NO, alcohols and hydrocarbons as well as standard gases such as N2 and He. The measurements have been repeated with a thin orifice to verify the systematics. The results are well consistent with numerically derived values and demonstrate a robust understanding of the design and performance of the labyrinth seal.

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An overview of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

The Galaxy Starburst/Main-sequence Bimodality over Five Decades in Stellar Mass at z ≈ 3–6.5

The Galaxy Starburst/Main-sequence Bimodality over Five Decades in Stellar Mass at z ≈ 3–6.5

Scientific discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope

Molecular conductance of a contact-free labyrinth seal used for the contamination control of a cryogenic space instrument

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