Atmospheric Retrievals Suggest the Presence of a Secondary Atmosphere and Possible Sulfur Species on L98-59 d from JWST Nirspec G395H Transmission Spectroscopy

Agnibha Banerjee; Joanna K. Barstow; Amélie Gressier; Néstor Espinoza; David K. Sing; Natalie H. Allen; Stephan M. Birkmann; Ryan C. Challener; Nicolas Crouzet; Carole A. Haswell; Nikole K. Lewis; Stephen R. Lewis; Jingxuan Yang

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad73d0

The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2024)

Atmospheric Retrievals Suggest the Presence of a Secondary Atmosphere and Possible Sulfur Species on L98-59 d from JWST Nirspec G395H Transmission Spectroscopy

Agnibha Banerjee,
Joanna K. Barstow,
Amélie Gressier,
Néstor Espinoza,
David K. Sing,
Natalie H. Allen,
Stephan M. Birkmann,
Ryan C. Challener,
Nicolas Crouzet,
Carole A. Haswell,
Nikole K. Lewis,
Stephen R. Lewis,
Jingxuan Yang

Affiliations

Agnibha Banerjee: ORCiD; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University , Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK ; [email protected]
Joanna K. Barstow: ORCiD; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University , Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK ; [email protected]
Amélie Gressier: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Néstor Espinoza: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
David K. Sing: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Natalie H. Allen: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Stephan M. Birkmann: ORCiD; European Space Agency, European Space Astronomy Centre , Camino Bajo del Castillo s/n, E-28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
Ryan C. Challener: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Nicolas Crouzet: ORCiD; Leiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Carole A. Haswell: ORCiD; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University , Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK ; [email protected]
Nikole K. Lewis: ORCiD; Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University , 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Stephen R. Lewis: ORCiD; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University , Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK ; [email protected]
Jingxuan Yang: ORCiD; Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad73d0
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 975, no. 1
p. L11

Abstract

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L 98-59 d is a Super-Earth planet orbiting an M-type star. We performed retrievals on the transmission spectrum of L 98-59 d obtained using NIRSpec G395H during a single transit, from JWST Cycle 1 GTO 1224. The wavelength range of this spectrum allows us to detect the presence of several atmospheric species. We found that the spectrum is consistent with a high mean molecular weight atmosphere. The atmospheric spectrum indicates the possible presence of the sulfur-bearing species H _2 S and SO _2 , which could hint at active volcanism on this planet if verified by future observations. We also tested for signs of stellar contamination in the spectrum and found signs of unocculted faculae on the star. The tentative signs of an atmosphere on L 98-59 d presented in this work from just one transit bodes well for possible molecular detections in the future, particularly as it is one of the best targets among small exoplanets for atmospheric characterization using JWST.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

ISSN: 2041-8205 (Print); 2041-8213 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/2041-8205

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