New MAROON-X observations of HAT-P-70b detect multiple neutral and ionized metals with day-to-night wind signatures and demonstrate that ionization-aware retrievals yield abundance ratios closer to solar values except for enhanced nickel.
A., Garcia, L., Rackham, B
3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
abstract
TOI-3884 b is a rare super-Neptune transiting a fully convective M dwarf that hosts a persistent giant polar spot. Because the planet occults this active region during every transit, the system offers a unique laboratory to directly probe the stellar surface and spot properties. We present seven James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) transits of TOI-3884 b observed with NIRISS and NIRSpec (spanning 0.6--5.3$\mu$m). While all visits show a recurring spot-crossing signature, each transit exhibits a distinct spot-crossing morphology, enabling us to infer a stellar rotation period of $P$=11.102$\pm$0.003d and tightly constrain the pole-on stellar orientation ($i_{*}$=139.2$\pm$0.3$^{\circ}$, $\lambda_{*}$=31.1$\pm$0.4$^{\circ}$) and spot properties ($R_{\rm{spot}}=0.576^{+0.006}_{-0.005}$R$_{*}$, $\phi_{\rm{spot}}$=-84.69$\pm$0.12$^{\circ}$).We leverage this orbital configuration to measure the first empirical panchromatic spectrum of an M dwarf starspot with JWST, establishing a direct observational benchmark for stellar atmosphere models in the fully convective regime. Comparison with 1D NewEra and SPHINX atmosphere models indicates that the spot is 183$\pm$1K cooler than the photosphere, consistent with previous ground-based measurements and expectations for mid M dwarf spot contrasts. While the models reproduce the observed contrasts at wavelengths longer than 1$\mu$m, they significantly underpredict the contrasts at shorter wavelengths. These results demonstrate that M dwarf stellar atmosphere models may not fully capture the wavelength dependence of stellar contamination in transmission spectra and highlight the importance of empirical spot spectra for robust interpretation of planetary atmospheres, particularly in the optical.
years
2026 3representative citing papers
Pandora simulations recover stellar photospheric temperatures to ~30 K with no bias and reduce simple spot contamination from 100-1000 ppm to under 10 ppm, but complex spot geometries leave ~1000 ppm residuals.
Proposes a two-generation Nautilus observatory program using time-series spectroscopy of transiting systems and stellar monitoring to benchmark models of stellar photospheric heterogeneities for exoplanet transmission spectroscopy.
citing papers explorer
-
HAT-P-70b through the Eyes of MAROON-X: Constraining Elemental Abundances of Metals and Insights on Atmosphere Dynamics
New MAROON-X observations of HAT-P-70b detect multiple neutral and ionized metals with day-to-night wind signatures and demonstrate that ionization-aware retrievals yield abundance ratios closer to solar values except for enhanced nickel.
-
NASA's Pandora SmallSat Mission: Simulating the Impact of Stellar Photospheric Heterogeneity and Its Correction
Pandora simulations recover stellar photospheric temperatures to ~30 K with no bias and reduce simple spot contamination from 100-1000 ppm to under 10 ppm, but complex spot geometries leave ~1000 ppm residuals.
-
Mapping Stellar Heterogeneities with the Nautilus Space Observatory
Proposes a two-generation Nautilus observatory program using time-series spectroscopy of transiting systems and stellar monitoring to benchmark models of stellar photospheric heterogeneities for exoplanet transmission spectroscopy.