JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b
Clouds are prevalent in many of the exoplanet atmospheres that have been observed to date. For transiting exoplanets, we know if clouds are present because they mute spectral features and cause wavelength-dependent scattering. While the exact composition of these clouds is largely unknown, this info...
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfc3b |
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| author | David Grant Nikole K. Lewis Hannah R. Wakeford Natasha E. Batalha Ana Glidden Jayesh Goyal Elijah Mullens Ryan J. MacDonald Erin M. May Sara Seager Kevin B. Stevenson Jeff A. Valenti Channon Visscher Lili Alderson Natalie H. Allen Caleb I. Cañas Knicole Colón Mark Clampin Néstor Espinoza Amélie Gressier Jingcheng Huang Zifan Lin Douglas Long Dana R. Louie Maria Peña-Guerrero Sukrit Ranjan Kristin S. Sotzen Daniel Valentine Jay Anderson William O. Balmer Andrea Bellini Kielan K. W. Hoch Jens Kammerer Mattia Libralato C. Matt Mountain Marshall D. Perrin Laurent Pueyo Emily Rickman Isabel Rebollido Sangmo Tony Sohn Roeland P. van der Marel Laura L. Watkins |
| author_facet | David Grant Nikole K. Lewis Hannah R. Wakeford Natasha E. Batalha Ana Glidden Jayesh Goyal Elijah Mullens Ryan J. MacDonald Erin M. May Sara Seager Kevin B. Stevenson Jeff A. Valenti Channon Visscher Lili Alderson Natalie H. Allen Caleb I. Cañas Knicole Colón Mark Clampin Néstor Espinoza Amélie Gressier Jingcheng Huang Zifan Lin Douglas Long Dana R. Louie Maria Peña-Guerrero Sukrit Ranjan Kristin S. Sotzen Daniel Valentine Jay Anderson William O. Balmer Andrea Bellini Kielan K. W. Hoch Jens Kammerer Mattia Libralato C. Matt Mountain Marshall D. Perrin Laurent Pueyo Emily Rickman Isabel Rebollido Sangmo Tony Sohn Roeland P. van der Marel Laura L. Watkins |
| author_sort | David Grant |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Clouds are prevalent in many of the exoplanet atmospheres that have been observed to date. For transiting exoplanets, we know if clouds are present because they mute spectral features and cause wavelength-dependent scattering. While the exact composition of these clouds is largely unknown, this information is vital to understanding the chemistry and energy budget of planetary atmospheres. In this work, we observe one transit of the hot Jupiter WASP-17b with JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument Low Resolution Spectrometer and generate a transmission spectrum from 5 to 12 μ m. These wavelengths allow us to probe absorption due to the vibrational modes of various predicted cloud species. Our transmission spectrum shows additional opacity centered at 8.6 μ m, and detailed atmospheric modeling and retrievals identify this feature as SiO _2 (s) (quartz) clouds. The SiO _2 (s) clouds model is preferred at 3.5–4.2 σ versus a cloud-free model and at 2.6 σ versus a generic aerosol prescription. We find the SiO _2 (s) clouds are composed of small ∼0.01 μ m particles, which extend to high altitudes in the atmosphere. The atmosphere also shows a depletion of H _2 O, a finding consistent with the formation of high-temperature aerosols from oxygen-rich species. This work is part of a series of studies by our JWST Telescope Scientist Team (JWST-TST), in which we will use Guaranteed Time Observations to perform Deep Reconnaissance of Exoplanet Atmospheres through Multi-instrument Spectroscopy (DREAMS). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:38:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-711fc9590f494bdf8d527d0554f4bf19 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:38:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-711fc9590f494bdf8d527d0554f4bf192023-12-20T16:25:24ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019562L3210.3847/2041-8213/acfc3bJWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17bDavid Grant0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5878-618XNikole K. Lewis1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8507-1304Hannah R. Wakeford2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4328-3867Natasha E. Batalha3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1240-6844Ana Glidden4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5322-2315Jayesh Goyal5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8515-7204Elijah Mullens6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0814-7923Ryan J. MacDonald7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4816-3469Erin M. May8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2739-1465Sara Seager9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6892-6948Kevin B. Stevenson10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7352-7941Jeff A. Valenti11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3305-6281Channon Visscher12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6627-6067Lili Alderson13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8703-7751Natalie H. Allen14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0832-710XCaleb I. Cañas15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4835-0619Knicole Colón16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8020-7121Mark Clampin17https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4003-8348Néstor Espinoza18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9513-1449Amélie Gressier19https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0854-3002Jingcheng Huang20https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5732-8531Zifan Lin21https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0525-9647Douglas Long22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2508-9211Dana R. Louie23https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2457-272XMaria Peña-Guerrero24https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2314-3453Sukrit Ranjan25https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5147-9053Kristin S. Sotzen26https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7393-2368Daniel Valentine27https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2643-6836Jay Anderson28https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2861-3995William O. Balmer29https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6396-8439Andrea Bellini30https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3858-637XKielan K. W. Hoch31https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9803-8255Jens Kammerer32https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2769-0438Mattia Libralato33https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9673-7397C. Matt Mountain34Marshall D. Perrin35https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3191-8151Laurent Pueyo36Emily Rickman37https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4203-9715Isabel Rebollido38https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4388-6417Sangmo Tony Sohn39https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8368-0221Roeland P. van der Marel40https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7827-7825Laura L. Watkins41https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1343-134XHH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UKDepartment of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USAHH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UKNASA Ames Research Center , Moffett Field, CA 94035, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USASchool of Earth and Planetary Sciences (SEPS), National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) , HBNI, Odisha, IndiaDepartment of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 1085 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAJohns Hopkins APL , 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAJohns Hopkins APL , 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAChemistry & Planetary Sciences, Dordt University , Sioux Center, IA 51250, USA; Center for Extrasolar Planetary Systems, Space Science Institute , Boulder, CO 80301, USAHH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UKWilliam H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USANASA Headquarters , 300 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20546, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USALunar and Planetary Laboratory/Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USAJohns Hopkins APL , 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723, USA; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USAHH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol , Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UKSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USACenter for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California , San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAAURA for the European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy , 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 1475, Washington, DC 20004, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAEuropean Space Agency (ESA), ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USACentro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA) , ESAC Campus Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n, Villanueva de la Cañada, E-28692 Madrid, SpainSpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USAAURA for the European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USAClouds are prevalent in many of the exoplanet atmospheres that have been observed to date. For transiting exoplanets, we know if clouds are present because they mute spectral features and cause wavelength-dependent scattering. While the exact composition of these clouds is largely unknown, this information is vital to understanding the chemistry and energy budget of planetary atmospheres. In this work, we observe one transit of the hot Jupiter WASP-17b with JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument Low Resolution Spectrometer and generate a transmission spectrum from 5 to 12 μ m. These wavelengths allow us to probe absorption due to the vibrational modes of various predicted cloud species. Our transmission spectrum shows additional opacity centered at 8.6 μ m, and detailed atmospheric modeling and retrievals identify this feature as SiO _2 (s) (quartz) clouds. The SiO _2 (s) clouds model is preferred at 3.5–4.2 σ versus a cloud-free model and at 2.6 σ versus a generic aerosol prescription. We find the SiO _2 (s) clouds are composed of small ∼0.01 μ m particles, which extend to high altitudes in the atmosphere. The atmosphere also shows a depletion of H _2 O, a finding consistent with the formation of high-temperature aerosols from oxygen-rich species. This work is part of a series of studies by our JWST Telescope Scientist Team (JWST-TST), in which we will use Guaranteed Time Observations to perform Deep Reconnaissance of Exoplanet Atmospheres through Multi-instrument Spectroscopy (DREAMS).https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfc3bExoplanet atmospheresTransmission spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | David Grant Nikole K. Lewis Hannah R. Wakeford Natasha E. Batalha Ana Glidden Jayesh Goyal Elijah Mullens Ryan J. MacDonald Erin M. May Sara Seager Kevin B. Stevenson Jeff A. Valenti Channon Visscher Lili Alderson Natalie H. Allen Caleb I. Cañas Knicole Colón Mark Clampin Néstor Espinoza Amélie Gressier Jingcheng Huang Zifan Lin Douglas Long Dana R. Louie Maria Peña-Guerrero Sukrit Ranjan Kristin S. Sotzen Daniel Valentine Jay Anderson William O. Balmer Andrea Bellini Kielan K. W. Hoch Jens Kammerer Mattia Libralato C. Matt Mountain Marshall D. Perrin Laurent Pueyo Emily Rickman Isabel Rebollido Sangmo Tony Sohn Roeland P. van der Marel Laura L. Watkins JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b The Astrophysical Journal Letters Exoplanet atmospheres Transmission spectroscopy |
| title | JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b |
| title_full | JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b |
| title_fullStr | JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b |
| title_full_unstemmed | JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b |
| title_short | JWST-TST DREAMS: Quartz Clouds in the Atmosphere of WASP-17b |
| title_sort | jwst tst dreams quartz clouds in the atmosphere of wasp 17b |
| topic | Exoplanet atmospheres Transmission spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfc3b |
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