Confirmation of Subsolar Metallicity for WASP-77Ab from JWST Thermal Emission Spectroscopy

Abstract

We present the dayside thermal emission spectrum of WASP-77Ab from 2.8 to 5.2 μ m as observed with the NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). WASP-77Ab was previously found to have a subsolar metallicity and a solar carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio from H _2 O and CO absorption lines detected using high-resolution spectroscopy. By performing atmospheric retrievals on the JWST spectrum assuming chemical equilibrium, we find a subsolar metallicity [M/H] = $-{0.91}_{-0.16}^{+0.24}$ and C/O ratio ${0.36}_{-0.09}^{+0.10}$ . We identify H _2 O and CO and constrain their abundances, and we find no CO _2 in the spectrum. The JWST and high-resolution spectroscopy results agree within ∼1 σ for the metallicity and within 1.8 σ for the C/O ratio. However, our results fit less well in the picture painted by the shorter wavelength spectrum measured by Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. Comparing the JWST thermal emission spectra of WASP-77Ab and HD 149026b shows that both hot Jupiters have nearly identical brightness temperatures in the near-infrared but distinctly different atmospheric compositions. Our results reaffirm high-resolution spectroscopy as a powerful and reliable method to measure molecular abundances. Our results also highlight the incredible diversity of hot Jupiter atmospheric compositions.

Keywords

• Exoplanets
• Exoplanet atmospheres
• James Webb Space Telescope