JWST-TST DREAMS: NIRSpec/PRISM Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e
read the original abstract
TRAPPIST-1 e is one of the very few rocky exoplanets that is both amenable to atmospheric characterization and that resides in the habitable zone of its star -- located at a distance from its star such that it might, with the right atmosphere, sustain liquid water on its surface. Here, we present a set of 4 JWST/NIRSpec PRISM transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 e obtained from mid to late 2023. Our transmission spectra exhibit similar levels of stellar contamination as observed in prior works for other planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system (Lim et al, 2023; Radica et al., 2024), but over a wider wavelength range, showcasing the challenge of characterizing the TRAPPIST-1 planets even at relatively long wavelengths (3-5 um). While we show that current stellar modeling frameworks are unable to explain the stellar contamination features in our spectra, we demonstrate that we can marginalize over those features instead using Gaussian Processes, which enables us to perform novel exoplanet atmospheric inferences with our transmission spectra. In particular, we are able to rule out cloudy, primary H$_2$-dominated ($\gtrsim$ 80$\%$ by volume) atmospheres at better than a 3$\sigma$ level. Constraints on possible secondary atmospheres on TRAPPIST-1 e are presented in a companion paper (Glidden et al., 2025). Our work showcases how JWST is breaking ground into the precisions needed to constrain the atmospheric composition of habitable-zone rocky exoplanets.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet.
Forward citations
Cited by 8 Pith papers
-
JWST COMPASS Program: The 3--5$\mu$m transmission spectrum of LTT 1445 A b
JWST NIRSpec observations of LTT 1445 A b yield a featureless 3-5μm transmission spectrum, limiting atmospheric metallicity to ≳350× solar under grey-cloud models.
-
A single power law for the TRAPPIST-1 flare distribution across four orders of magnitude in energy
TRAPPIST-1 flares follow a single power law N(≥E_TESS) ∝ E_TESS^{-0.753} from 10^{29} to 10^{33} erg after sensitivity corrections and bandpass conversion.
-
The Rocky Planet Picture Show: Implementation of Surface Reflection and Emission in $\texttt{POSEIDON}$ with Application to and Interpretation of JWST Data
POSEIDON now includes lab-derived rocky surface albedos, enabling JWST emission spectra to separate thin versus thick atmospheres and potentially identify granite-like versus basaltic surfaces.
-
Toward Inferring the Surface Fluxes of Biosignature Gases on Rocky Exoplanets from Telescope Spectra
A retrieval technique infers surface gas fluxes from exoplanet spectra via inversion of a photochemical-climate model, demonstrated on synthetic TRAPPIST-1 e data with an Archean-like biosphere.
-
Ultraviolet-Driven Atmospheric Degeneracies Challenge Conventional Biosignature Frameworks for Terrestrial Planets with Ultracool M Dwarf Hosts: An Archean-Analog TRAPPIST-1 e Case Study
Different UV spectra for TRAPPIST-1 produce order-of-magnitude variations in CH4, CO, O2, and O3 abundances for Archean-analog TRAPPIST-1 e atmospheres, generating photochemical degeneracies and potential false-positi...
-
A single power law for the TRAPPIST-1 flare distribution across four orders of magnitude in energy
TRAPPIST-1 flares obey a single power law N(≥E) ∝ E^{-0.753} from 10^29 to 10^33 erg in TESS energy after sensitivity corrections.
-
A public dataset of Ariel simulated observations for developing exoplanetary atmosphere data reduction pipelines
A comprehensive public dataset of simulated Ariel exoplanet transmission spectra is released to benchmark detrending algorithms, with an ML baseline highlighting dataset shift risks.
-
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.
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.