Kavli Affiliate: Sara Seager
| First 5 Authors: Julien de Wit, Julien de Wit, , ,
| Summary:
Today’s most detailed characterization of exoplanet atmospheres is accessible
via transit spectroscopy (TS). Detecting transiting exoplanets only yields
their size, and it is thus standard to measure a planet’s mass before moving
towards their atmospheric characterization, or even the publication of their
discovery. This framework, however, can act as a bottleneck for high-throughput
exoplanetology. Here, we review existing applications of an alternative
approach deriving exoplanet masses in small JWST atmospheric exploration
programs and quantify the potential of its systematic application. We find that
for $sim$20% of transiting exoplanets with existing mass constraints, a small
JWST exploration program could yield the planetary mass with a similar — or
better — precision. Such results suggest that proceeding directly with
atmospheric exploration programs for favorable exoplanets (i.e., with a
transmission spectroscopy metric, TSM, $geq$100) could substantially reduce
the time from detection to exoplanet atmospheric study and further support
JWST’s scientific output over its lifetime while saving up to 20% of resources
on radial-velocity (RV) facilities. Furthermore, it can substantially increase
the sample of characterized planets of three distinct subpopulations
(Neptune-sized, young, and hot-star exoplanets), each providing specific
insights into formation and evolution processes. As the field of exoplanets
increasingly turns to directly imaged planets, mastering the determination of
planetary masses from atmospheric spectra will become essential.
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