The JWST near-infrared spectrograph NIRSpec: status

Ferruit, Pierre; Bagnasco, G.; Barho, Reiner; Birkmann, Stephan M.; Böker, Torsten; Marchi, Guido De; Dorner, Bernhard; Ehrenwinkler, Ralf; Falcolini, Massimo; Giardino, G.; Gnata, Xavier; Honnen, Karl; Jakobsen, P.; Jensen, Peter; Kolm, Manfred; Maier, Hans-Ulrich; Maurer, R.; Melf, Markus; Mosner, Peter; Rumler, Peter; Salvignol, Jean-Christophe; Sirianni, M.; Strada, Paolo; Plate, Maurice te; Wettemann, Thomas

doi:10.1117/12.925810

Cited by 33 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…We simulate eclipse observations with the JWST using the EclipseSim package . We observe the system during 1 eclipse in each using the NIRISS (Doyon et al 2012), NIRSPEC (Ferruit et al 2012), and MIRI instruments (Wright et al 2010). The length of each observation is taken to be the full eclipse duration T 14 bracketed by a "baseline" of length T 23 before as well as after the eclipse, 8 yielding a total time of 8 hr per observation.…”

Section: Simulated Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Imprint of Exoplanet Formation History on Observable Present-Day Spectra of Hot Jupiters

Mordasini

Boekel

Mollière

et al. 2016

ApJ

358

388

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The composition of a planet's atmosphere is determined by its formation, evolution, and present-day insolation. A planet's spectrum therefore may hold clues on its origins. We present a "chain" of models, linking the formation of a planet to its observable present-day spectrum. The chain links include (1) the planet's formation and migration, (2) its long-term thermodynamic evolution, (3) a variety of disk chemistry models, (4) a non-gray atmospheric model, and (5) a radiometric model to obtain simulated spectroscopic observations with James Webb Space Telescope and ARIEL. In our standard chemistry model the inner disk is depleted in refractory carbon as in the Solar System and in white dwarfs polluted by extrasolar planetesimals. Our main findings are: (1) envelope enrichment by planetesimal impacts during formation dominates the final planetary atmospheric composition of hot Jupiters. We investigate two, under this finding, prototypical formation pathways: a formation inside or outside the water iceline, called "dry" and "wet" planets, respectively. (2) Both the "dry" and "wet" planets are oxygen-rich (C/O<1) due to the oxygen-rich nature of the solid building blocks. The "dry" planet's C/O ratio is <0.2 for standard carbon depletion, while the "wet" planet has typical C/O values between 0.1 and 0.5 depending mainly on the clathrate formation efficiency. Only non-standard disk chemistries without carbon depletion lead to carbonrich C/O ratios >1 for the "dry" planet. (3) While we consistently find C/O ratios <1, they still vary significantly. To link a formation history to a specific C/O, a better understanding of the disk chemistry is thus needed.

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Section: Simulated Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Imprint of Exoplanet Formation History on Observable Present-Day Spectra of Hot Jupiters

Mordasini

Boekel

Mollière

et al. 2016

ApJ

358

388

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For this we consider observations in the NIRISS (Doyon et al 2012), NIRSpec (Ferruit et al 2012), and MIRI instruments (Wright et al 2010). The length of each observation is taken to be the full eclipse duration, bracketed by "baseline" observations before and after the eclipse, which each have a duration of the eclipse itself.…”

Section: Radiometric Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing transiting planets with JWST

Mollière

Boekel

Bouwman

et al. 2017

A&A

192

250

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Context. The James Webb Space Telescope will enable astronomers to obtain exoplanet spectra of unprecedented precision. The MIRI instrument especially may shed light on the nature of the cloud particles obscuring planetary transmission spectra in the optical and near-infrared. Aims. We provide self-consistent atmospheric models and synthetic JWST observations for prime exoplanet targets in order to identify spectral regions of interest and estimate the number of transits needed to distinguish between model setups. Methods. We select targets that span a wide range of planetary temperatures and surface gravities, ranging from super-Earths to giant planets, that have a high expected signal-to-noise ratio. For all targets, we vary the enrichment, C/O ratio, presence of optical absorbers (TiO/VO), and cloud treatment. We calculate atmospheric structures, emission, and transmission spectra for all targets and use a radiometric model to obtain simulated observations. Further, we analyze JWST's ability to distinguish between various scenarios. Results. We find that in very cloudy planets, such as GJ 1214b, less than ten transits with NIRSpec may be enough to reveal molecular features. Furthermore, the presence of small silicate grains in atmospheres of hot Jupiters may be detectable with a single JWST MIRI transit. For a more detailed characterization of such particles less than ten transits are necessary. Finally, we find that some of the hottest hot Jupiters are well fitted by models which neglect the redistribution of the insolation and harbor inversions, and that 1-4 eclipse measurements with NIRSpec are needed to distinguish between the inversion models.Conclusions. Wet thus demonstrate the capabilities of JWST for solving some of the most intriguing puzzles in current exoplanet atmospheric research. Further, by publishing all models calculated for this study we enable the community to carry out similar studies, as well as retrieval analyses for all planets included in our target list.

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“…All focal plane arrays support high cadence sub-array exposures to provide a high dynamic range capability for exoplanet transit observations. Slit spectroscopy over the 0.6 -5 um spectrum is provided by the NIRSpec instrument (Bagnasco 2007;Ferruit 2012). The NIRSpec affords a range of spectral resolutions (10 -2 < λ/∆λ < 10 -3 ) that can be used with long slit, multi-object, and integral field aperture control modes.…”

Section: Extracting Information From Starlightmentioning

confidence: 99%

The JWST science instrument payload: mission context and status

Greenhouse

2014

SPIE Proceedings

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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the scientific successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a cryogenic infrared space observatory with a 25 m 2 aperture (6 m class) telescope that will achieve diffraction limited angular resolution at a wavelength of 2 um. The science instrument payload includes four passively cooled near-infrared instruments providing broad-and narrow-band imagery, coronography, as well as multi-object and integral-field spectroscopy over the 0.6 < λ < 5.0 um spectrum. An actively cooled mid-infrared instrument provides broad-band imagery, coronography, and integral-field spectroscopy over the 5.0 < λ < 29 um spectrum. The JWST is being developed by NASA, in partnership with the European and Canadian Space Agencies, as a general user facility with science observations to be proposed by the international astronomical community in a manner similar to the Hubble Space Telescope. Technology development and mission design are complete. Construction, integration and verification testing is underway in all areas of the program. The JWST is on schedule for launch during 2018. This science case forms the basis from which detailed science and mission requirements were derived to guide engineering design and development of the JWST as a research tool. The science observations that are implemented by the JWST will be proposed by the international astronomical community in response to annual peer reviewed proposal opportunities (Rigby 2012). The discovery potential of the JWST relative to other concurrent facilities is discussed in Thronson, Stiavelli, and Tielens 2009. The emergence of the first sources of light in the universe marks the end of the "Dark Ages" in cosmic history (Rees 1997). The ultraviolet radiation field produced by these sources created the ionization that is observed in the local intergalactic medium (IGM). The JWST design provides unique capability to address key questions about this era in cosmic evolution including: what is the nature of the first galaxies; how and when did ionization of the space between them occur; and what sources caused the ionization? The JWST architecture is primarily shaped by requirements associated with answering the above questions.In contrast to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the JWST is designed as an infrared optimized telescope to observe the redshifted visible and ultraviolet radiation from the first galaxies and supernovae of the first stars. To achieve the nJy sensitivity needed to observe this era (z ~ 6-20), the observatory must have a telescope aperture that is larger in diameter than the largest rocket faring, and the entire optical system must be cooled to ~40-50 K. Finally, the resulting large deployable cryogenic telescope must achieve HST-like angular resolution, but at a 4X longer wavelength thus, also necessitating a large diameter telescope aperture. The major observatory design features (Table 1, Figure 1) trace directly from these requirements and differ markedly from those of the HST.

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The JWST near-infrared spectrograph NIRSpec: status

Cited by 33 publications

References 17 publications

The Imprint of Exoplanet Formation History on Observable Present-Day Spectra of Hot Jupiters

The Imprint of Exoplanet Formation History on Observable Present-Day Spectra of Hot Jupiters

Observing transiting planets with JWST

The JWST science instrument payload: mission context and status

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