Atmospheric Reconnaissance of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/NIRISS: Evidence for Strong Stellar Contamination in the Transmission Spectra

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Lim, Olivia, Benneke, Björn, Doyon, René, MacDonald, Ryan J., Piaulet, Caroline, Artigau, Étienne, Coulombe, Louis-Philippe, Radica, Michael, L'Heureux, Alexandrine, Albert, Loïc, Rackham, Benjamin V., de Wit, Julien, Salhi, Salma, Roy, Pierre-Alexis, Flagg, Laura, Fournier-Tondreau, Marylou, Taylor, Jake, Cook, Neil J., Lafrenière, David, Cowan, Nicolas B., Kaltenegger, Lisa, Rowe, Jason F., Espinoza, Néstor, Dang, Lisa, Darveau-Bernier, Antoine
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Lim, Olivia
Benneke, Björn
Doyon, René
MacDonald, Ryan J.
Piaulet, Caroline
Artigau, Étienne
Coulombe, Louis-Philippe
Radica, Michael
L'Heureux, Alexandrine
Albert, Loïc
Rackham, Benjamin V.
de Wit, Julien
Salhi, Salma
Roy, Pierre-Alexis
Flagg, Laura
Fournier-Tondreau, Marylou
Taylor, Jake
Cook, Neil J.
Lafrenière, David
Cowan, Nicolas B.
Kaltenegger, Lisa
Rowe, Jason F.
Espinoza, Néstor
Dang, Lisa
Darveau-Bernier, Antoine
author_facet Lim, Olivia
Benneke, Björn
Doyon, René
MacDonald, Ryan J.
Piaulet, Caroline
Artigau, Étienne
Coulombe, Louis-Philippe
Radica, Michael
L'Heureux, Alexandrine
Albert, Loïc
Rackham, Benjamin V.
de Wit, Julien
Salhi, Salma
Roy, Pierre-Alexis
Flagg, Laura
Fournier-Tondreau, Marylou
Taylor, Jake
Cook, Neil J.
Lafrenière, David
Cowan, Nicolas B.
Kaltenegger, Lisa
Rowe, Jason F.
Espinoza, Néstor
Dang, Lisa
Darveau-Bernier, Antoine
contents TRAPPIST-1 is a nearby system of seven Earth-sized, temperate, rocky exoplanets transiting a Jupiter-sized M8.5V star, ideally suited for in-depth atmospheric studies. Each TRAPPIST-1 planet has been observed in transmission both from space and from the ground, confidently rejecting cloud-free, hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Secondary eclipse observations of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/MIRI are consistent with little to no atmosphere given the lack of heat redistribution. Here we present the first transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 b obtained with JWST/NIRISS over two visits. The two transmission spectra show moderate to strong evidence of contamination from unocculted stellar heterogeneities, which dominates the signal in both visits. The transmission spectrum of the first visit is consistent with unocculted starspots and the second visit exhibits signatures of unocculted faculae. Fitting the stellar contamination and planetary atmosphere either sequentially or simultaneously, we confirm the absence of cloud-free hydrogen-rich atmospheres, but cannot assess the presence of secondary atmospheres. We find that the uncertainties associated with the lack of stellar model fidelity are one order of magnitude above the observation precision of 89 ppm (combining the two visits). Without affecting the conclusion regarding the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1 b, this highlights an important caveat for future explorations, which calls for additional observations to characterize stellar heterogeneities empirically and/or theoretical works to improve model fidelity for such cool stars. This need is all the more justified as stellar contamination can affect the search for atmospheres around the outer, cooler TRAPPIST-1 planets for which transmission spectroscopy is currently the most efficient technique.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2309_07047
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Atmospheric Reconnaissance of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/NIRISS: Evidence for Strong Stellar Contamination in the Transmission Spectra
Lim, Olivia
Benneke, Björn
Doyon, René
MacDonald, Ryan J.
Piaulet, Caroline
Artigau, Étienne
Coulombe, Louis-Philippe
Radica, Michael
L'Heureux, Alexandrine
Albert, Loïc
Rackham, Benjamin V.
de Wit, Julien
Salhi, Salma
Roy, Pierre-Alexis
Flagg, Laura
Fournier-Tondreau, Marylou
Taylor, Jake
Cook, Neil J.
Lafrenière, David
Cowan, Nicolas B.
Kaltenegger, Lisa
Rowe, Jason F.
Espinoza, Néstor
Dang, Lisa
Darveau-Bernier, Antoine
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
TRAPPIST-1 is a nearby system of seven Earth-sized, temperate, rocky exoplanets transiting a Jupiter-sized M8.5V star, ideally suited for in-depth atmospheric studies. Each TRAPPIST-1 planet has been observed in transmission both from space and from the ground, confidently rejecting cloud-free, hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Secondary eclipse observations of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/MIRI are consistent with little to no atmosphere given the lack of heat redistribution. Here we present the first transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 b obtained with JWST/NIRISS over two visits. The two transmission spectra show moderate to strong evidence of contamination from unocculted stellar heterogeneities, which dominates the signal in both visits. The transmission spectrum of the first visit is consistent with unocculted starspots and the second visit exhibits signatures of unocculted faculae. Fitting the stellar contamination and planetary atmosphere either sequentially or simultaneously, we confirm the absence of cloud-free hydrogen-rich atmospheres, but cannot assess the presence of secondary atmospheres. We find that the uncertainties associated with the lack of stellar model fidelity are one order of magnitude above the observation precision of 89 ppm (combining the two visits). Without affecting the conclusion regarding the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1 b, this highlights an important caveat for future explorations, which calls for additional observations to characterize stellar heterogeneities empirically and/or theoretical works to improve model fidelity for such cool stars. This need is all the more justified as stellar contamination can affect the search for atmospheres around the outer, cooler TRAPPIST-1 planets for which transmission spectroscopy is currently the most efficient technique.
title Atmospheric Reconnaissance of TRAPPIST-1 b with JWST/NIRISS: Evidence for Strong Stellar Contamination in the Transmission Spectra
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.07047