The JWST Early-release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 μm Spectrum of the Planetary-mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b

DOI: 
10.3847/2041-8213/acb04a
Publication date: 
13/03/2023
Main author: 
Miles, Brittany E.
IAA authors: 
Danielski, Camilla
Authors: 
Miles, Brittany E.;Biller, Beth A.;Patapis, Polychronis;Worthen, Kadin;Rickman, Emily;Hoch, Kielan K. W.;Skemer, Andrew;Perrin, Marshall D.;Whiteford, Niall;Chen, Christine H.;Sargent, B.;Mukherjee, Sagnick;Morley, Caroline V.;Moran, Sarah E.;Bonnefoy, Mickael;Petrus, Simon;Carter, Aarynn L.;Choquet, Elodie;Hinkley, Sasha;Ward-Duong, Kimberly;Leisenring, Jarron M.;Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.;Pueyo, Laurent;Ray, Shrishmoy;Sallum, Steph;Stapelfeldt, Karl R.;Stone, Jordan M.;Wang, Jason J.;Absil, Olivier;Balmer, William O.;Boccaletti, Anthony;Bonavita, Mariangela;Booth, Mark;Bowler, Brendan P.;Chauvin, Gael;Christiaens, Valentin;Currie, Thayne;Danielski, Camilla;Fortney, Jonathan J.;Girard, Julien H.;Grady, Carol A.;Greenbaum, Alexandra Z.;Henning, Thomas;Hines, Dean C.;Janson, Markus;Kalas, Paul;Kammerer, Jens;Kennedy, Grant M.;Kenworthy, Matthew A.;Kervella, Pierre;Lagage, Pierre-Olivier;Lew, Ben W. P.;Liu, Michael C.;Macintosh, Bruce;Marino, Sebastian;Marley, Mark S.;Marois, Christian;Matthews, Elisabeth C.;Matthews, Brenda C.;Mawet, Dimitri;McElwain, Michael W.;Metchev, Stanimir;Meyer, Michael R.;Molliere, Paul;Pantin, Eric;Quirrenbach, Andreas;Rebollido, Isabel;Ren, Bin B.;Schneider, Glenn;Vasist, Malavika;Wyatt, Mark C.;Zhou, Yifan;Briesemeister, Zackery W.;Bryan, Marta L.;Calissendorff, Per;Cantalloube, Faustine;Cugno, Gabriele;De Furio, Matthew;Dupuy, Trent J.;Factor, Samuel M.;Faherty, Jacqueline K.;Fitzgerald, Michael P.;Franson, Kyle;Gonzales, Eileen C.;Hood, Callie E.;Howe, Alex R.;Kraus, Adam L.;Kuzuhara, Masayuki;Lagrange, Anne-Marie;Lawson, Kellen;Lazzoni, Cecilia;Liu, Pengyu;Llop-Sayson, Jorge;Lloyd, James P.;Martinez, Raquel A.;Mazoyer, Johan;Quanz, Sascha P.;Redai, Jea Adams;Samland, Matthias;Schlieder, Joshua E.;Tamura, Motohide;Tan, Xianyu;Uyama, Taichi;Vigan, Arthur;Vos, Johanna M.;Wagner, Kevin;Wolff, Schuyler G.;Ygouf, Marie;Zhang, Xi;Zhang, Keming;Zhang, Zhoujian
Journal: 
Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publication type: 
Article
Volume: 
946
Pages: 
L6
Abstract: 
We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a &lt;20 M <SUB>Jup</SUB> widely separated (~8″, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion that shares photometric colors and spectroscopic features with the directly imaged exoplanets HR 8799c, d, and e. As an L-to-T transition object, VHS 1256 b exists along the region of the color-magnitude diagram where substellar atmospheres transition from cloudy to clear. We observed VHS 1256 b with JWST's NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS modes for coverage from 1 to 20 μm at resolutions of ~1000-3700. Water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium are observed in several portions of the JWST spectrum based on comparisons from template brown dwarf spectra, molecular opacities, and atmospheric models. The spectral shape of VHS 1256 b is influenced by disequilibrium chemistry and clouds. We directly detect silicate clouds, the first such detection reported for a planetary-mass companion.
Database: 
ADS
URL: 
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/#abs/2023ApJ...946L...6M/abstract
ADS Bibcode: 
2023ApJ...946L...6M
Keywords: 
Brown dwarfs;Exoplanet atmospheres;Extrasolar gaseous giant planets;185;487;509;Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics;Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics