The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems I: High-contrast Imaging of the Exoplanet HIP 65426 b from 2 to 16 μm

Authors

• Aarynn L. Carter, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Sasha Hinkley, University of Exeter
• Jens Kammerer, Space Telescope Science Institute
• Andrew Skemer, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Beth A. Biller, University of Edinburgh, Institute for Astronomy
• Jarron M. Leisenring, The University of Arizona
• Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Simon Petrus, Universidad de Valparaiso
• Jordan M. Stone, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
• Kimberly Ward-Duong, Smith CollegeFollow
• Jason J. Wang, Northwestern University
• Julien H. Girard, Space Telescope Science Institute
• Dean C. Hines, Space Telescope Science Institute
• Marshall D. Perrin, Space Telescope Science Institute
• Laurent Pueyo, Space Telescope Science Institute
• William O. Balmer, Space Telescope Science Institute
• Mariangela Bonavita, The Open University
• Mickael Bonnefoy, Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG)
• Gael Chauvin, Laboratoire Joseph-Louis Lagrange
• Elodie Choquet, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
• Valentin Christiaens, Université de Liège
• Camilla Danielski, CSIC - Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA)
• Grant M. Kennedy, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
• Elisabeth C. Matthews, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
• Brittany E. Miles, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Polychronis Patapis, ETH Zürich
• Shrishmoy Ray, University of Exeter
• Emily Rickman, European Space Agency - ESA
• Steph Sallum, University of California, Irvine
• Karl R. Stapelfeldt, California Institute of Technology
• Niall Whiteford, American Museum of Natural History
• Yifan Zhou, College of Natural Sciences

Author ORCID Identifier

Kimberly Ward-Duong: 0000-0002-4479-8291

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2023

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal Letters

Abstract

We present JWST Early Release Science coronagraphic observations of the super-Jupiter exoplanet, HIP 65426b, with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) from 2 to 5 μm, and with the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) from 11 to 16 μm. At a separation of ∼0.″82 (87 − 31 + 108 au), HIP 65426b is clearly detected in all seven of our observational filters, representing the first images of an exoplanet to be obtained by JWST, and the first-ever direct detection of an exoplanet beyond 5 μm. These observations demonstrate that JWST is exceeding its nominal predicted performance by up to a factor of 10, depending on separation and subtraction method, with measured 5σ contrast limits of ∼1 × 10⁻⁵ and ∼2 × 10⁻⁴ at 1″ for NIRCam at 4.4 μm and MIRI at 11.3 μm, respectively. These contrast limits provide sensitivity to sub-Jupiter companions with masses as low as 0.3M Jup beyond separations of ∼100 au. Together with existing ground-based near-infrared data, the JWST photometry are fit well by a BT-SETTL atmospheric model from 1 to 16 μm, and they span ∼97% of HIP 65426b's luminous range. Independent of the choice of model atmosphere, we measure an empirical bolometric luminosity that is tightly constrained between log L bol / L ⊙ = −4.31 and −4.14, which in turn provides a robust mass constraint of 7.1 ± 1.2 M Jup. In totality, these observations confirm that JWST presents a powerful and exciting opportunity to characterize the population of exoplanets amenable to high-contrast imaging in greater detail.

Volume

951

Issue

1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd93e

ISSN

20418205

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

© 2023 The Authors

Version

Version of Record

Recommended Citation

Carter, Aarynn L.; Hinkley, Sasha; Kammerer, Jens; Skemer, Andrew; Biller, Beth A.; Leisenring, Jarron M.; Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.; Petrus, Simon; Stone, Jordan M.; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Wang, Jason J.; Girard, Julien H.; Hines, Dean C.; Perrin, Marshall D.; Pueyo, Laurent; Balmer, William O.; Bonavita, Mariangela; Bonnefoy, Mickael; Chauvin, Gael; Choquet, Elodie; Christiaens, Valentin; Danielski, Camilla; Kennedy, Grant M.; Matthews, Elisabeth C.; Miles, Brittany E.; Patapis, Polychronis; Ray, Shrishmoy; Rickman, Emily; Sallum, Steph; Stapelfeldt, Karl R.; Whiteford, Niall; and Zhou, Yifan, "The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems I: High-contrast Imaging of the Exoplanet HIP 65426 b from 2 to 16 μm" (2023). Astronomy: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/ast_facpubs/149