Testing the performance of cross-correlation techniques to search for molecular features in JWST NIRSpec G395H observations of transiting exoplanets
| dc.authorid | 0000-0002-2341-3233 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0003-3204-8183 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0003-0987-1593 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0001-7014-6636 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0003-4763-2841 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0002-4207-6615 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0002-6617-3823 | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0002-3076-164X | |
| dc.authorid | 0000-0003-3786-3486 | |
| dc.contributor.author | Esparza-Borges, Emma | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lopez-Morales, Mercedes | |
| dc.contributor.author | Palle, Enric | |
| dc.contributor.author | Makhnev, Vladimir | |
| dc.contributor.author | Gordon, Iouli | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hargreaves, Robert | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kirk, James | |
| dc.contributor.author | Caceres, Claudio | |
| dc.contributor.author | Solmaz, Arif | |
| dc.contributor.author | Redfield, Seth | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-09T12:57:55Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-09T12:57:55Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.department | Fakülteler, Mühendislik ve Doğa Bilimleri Fakültesi, Mekatronik Mühendisliği Bölümü | |
| dc.description.abstract | Cross-correlations techniques offer an alternative method to search for molecular species in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of exoplanet atmospheres. In a previous article, we applied cross-correlation functions for the first time to JWST NIRSpec/G395H observations of exoplanet atmospheres, resulting in a detection of CO in the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b and a tentative detection of CO isotopologues. Here, we present an improved version of our cross-correlation technique and an investigation into how efficient the technique is when searching for other molecules in JWST NIRSpec/G395H data. Our search results in the detection of more molecules via cross-correlations in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, including H2O and CO2, and confirms the CO detection. This result proves that cross-correlations are a robust and computationally cheap alternative method to search for molecular species in transmission spectra observed with JWST. We also searched for other molecules (CH4, NH3, SO2, N2O, H2S, PH3, O3, and C2H2) that were not detected, for which we provide the definition of their cross-correlation baselines for future searches of those molecules in other targets. We find that that the cross-correlation search of each molecule is more efficient over limited wavelength regions of the spectrum, where the signal for that molecule dominates over other molecules, than over broad wavelength ranges. In general, we also find that Gaussian normalization is the most efficient normalization mode for the generation of the molecular templates. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA JWST. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in As tronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127 for JWST. These observations are associated with programme JWST-ERS-01366. Support for program JWST-ERS-01366 was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute. This work was supported by grant JWST-ERS-01366.033-A. EE-B and EP acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness through project PGC2018-098153-B-C31. EE B acknowledges financial support from the European Union and the State Agency of Investigation of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) under the grant PRE2020-093107 of the Pre-Doc Program for the Training of Doctors (FPI-SO) through FSE funds. JK acknowledges financial support from Imperial College London through an Imperial College Research Fellowship grant. CC acknowledges support by ANID BASAL project FB210003. LD acknowledges support from the KU Leuven IDN grant IDN/19/028 and the MC-ITN CHAMELEON grant. This research was supported by the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS which isfunded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) un der Germany’s Excellence Strategy – EXC-2094 – 390783311. GM acknowledges financial support from the Severo Ochoa grant CEX2021-001131-S and from the Ramon´ y Cajal grant RYC2022- 037854-I funded by MCIN/AEI/1144 10.13039/501100011033 and FSE+. This material is based upon work supported by the Na tional Aeronautics and Space Administration under Agreement No. 80NSSC21K0593 for the programme ‘Alien Earths’. The results reported herein benefited from collaborations and/or information exchange within NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) research coordination network sponsored by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. J-MD acknowledges the research programe VIDI New Frontiers in Exoplanetary Climatology with project number 614.001.601, which is (partly) financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Bu çalışma, NASA/ESA/CSA JWST ile yapılan gözlemlere dayanmaktadır. Veriler, NASA'nın JWST için NAS 5-03127 sayılı sözleşmesi kapsamında, Astronomi Araştırmaları Üniversiteleri Birliği tarafından işletilen Uzay Teleskobu Bilim Enstitüsü'ndeki Mikulski Uzay Teleskopları Arşivi'nden elde edilmiştir. Bu gözlemler, JWST-ERS-01366 programıyla ilişkilidir. JWST-ERS-01366 programına destek, Uzay Teleskobu Bilim Enstitüsü'nden alınan bir hibe aracılığıyla NASA tarafından sağlanmıştır. Bu çalışma, JWST-ERS-01366.033-A hibesiyle desteklenmiştir. EE-B ve EP, İspanya Ekonomi ve Rekabet Bakanlığı'nın PGC2018-098153-B-C31 projesi aracılığıyla sağladığı fonu kabul etmektedir. EE B, Avrupa Birliği ve İspanya Bilim ve İnovasyon Bakanlığı Devlet Araştırma Ajansı'ndan (MICINN), Doktorların Eğitimi için Doktora Öncesi Programı (FPI-SO) kapsamında FSE fonları aracılığıyla PRE2020-093107 hibesi kapsamında mali destek aldığını kabul eder. JK, Imperial College London'dan Imperial College Araştırma Bursu hibesi aracılığıyla mali destek aldığını kabul eder. CC, ANID BASAL projesi FB210003'ün desteğini kabul eder. LD, KU Leuven IDN hibesi IDN/19/028 ve MC-ITN CHAMELEON hibesinden destek aldığını kabul eder. Bu araştırma, Almanya'nın Mükemmellik Stratejisi - EXC-2094 - 390783311 kapsamında Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, Alman Araştırma Vakfı) tarafından finanse edilen Mükemmellik Kümesi ORIGINS tarafından desteklenmiştir. GM, Severo Ochoa hibesi CEX2021-001131-S ve MCIN/AEI/1144 10.13039/501100011033 ve FSE+ tarafından finanse edilen Ramon y Cajal hibesi RYC2022-037854-I'den aldığı mali desteği kabul etmektedir. Bu materyal, Ulusal Havacılık ve Uzay Dairesi tarafından "Uzaylı Dünyalar" programı için 80NSSC21K0593 sayılı Anlaşma kapsamında desteklenen çalışmalara dayanmaktadır. Burada bildirilen sonuçlar, NASA'nın Bilim Misyon Müdürlüğü tarafından desteklenen NASA'nın Gezegen Dışı Sistem Bilimi Bağlantısı (NExSS) araştırma koordinasyon ağı içindeki iş birliklerinden ve/veya bilgi alışverişinden yararlanmıştır. J-MD, Hollanda Araştırma Konseyi (NWO) tarafından (kısmen) finanse edilen 614.001.601 proje numaralı VIDI Gezegen Dışı İklim Biliminde Yeni Sınırlar araştırma programını takdir etmektedir. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Esparza-Borges, E., Lopez-Morales, M., Palle, E., Makhnev, V., Gordon, I., Hargreaves, R., Kirk, J., Caceres, C., Solmaz, A., & Redfield, S. (2025). Testing the performance of cross-correlation techniques to search for molecular features in JWST NIRSpec G395H observations of transiting exoplanets. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 543(4), pp. 3456-3473. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1659 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | 10.1093/mnras/staf1659 | |
| dc.identifier.endpage | 3473 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 0035-8711 | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1365-2966 | |
| dc.identifier.issue | 4 | |
| dc.identifier.scopus | 2-s2.0-105019353665 | |
| dc.identifier.scopusquality | Q1 | |
| dc.identifier.startpage | 3456 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1659 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13055/1181 | |
| dc.identifier.volume | 543 | |
| dc.identifier.wos | WOS:001597834000001 | |
| dc.identifier.wosquality | Q1 | |
| dc.indekslendigikaynak | Web of Science | |
| dc.indekslendigikaynak | Scopus | |
| dc.indekslendigikaynak | PubMed | |
| dc.indekslendigikaynak.other | SCI-E - Science Citation Index Expanded | |
| dc.institutionauthor | Solmaz, Arif | |
| dc.institutionauthorid | 0000-0002-3076-164X | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Oxford University Press | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | |
| dc.relation.publicationcategory | Makale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı | |
| dc.rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess | |
| dc.subject | Methods | |
| dc.subject | Observational – Exoplanets – Planets And Satellites | |
| dc.subject | Atmospheres – Methods | |
| dc.subject | Data Analysis – Techniques | |
| dc.subject | Spectroscopic – Planets And Satellites | |
| dc.subject | Composition | |
| dc.title | Testing the performance of cross-correlation techniques to search for molecular features in JWST NIRSpec G395H observations of transiting exoplanets | |
| dc.type | Article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication |












