Date: Wednesday 14-Feb-2024
Time: 11:30-12:30 pm
Location: PSC 1136
Speaker: Niall Whiteford
Title: A Game Changing Spectrum: The First Deep-Dive Retrieval Analysis of VHS 1256 b
Abstract: VHS 1256 b, the young planetary-mass and highly variable companion, was observed as part of the High Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST ERS program #1386. These observations combined NIRSpec and MIRI medium resolution spectroscopy, resulting in one of the most complete and highest quality SEDs to date for a world beyond our solar system. This is the first continuous spectrum of its kind, spanning 1 – 18 microns. Consisting of nearly 19,000 datapoints, it represents an order of magnitude jump from what has previously been possible – igniting a new era of possibilities and challenges for model fitting techniques. Using the Brewster retrieval framework, we have begun to thoroughly probe the dynamic chemical and cloudy state of VHS 1256 b’s atmosphere. We have detected the presence of Forsterite clouds, a surprising preference for uniform (non-patchy) clouds and the presence of NH3 at an earlier spectral type than previously seen for VHS 1256 b’s brown dwarf cousins. Here, we outline these novel results along with the crucial lessons learned in the first exploration of such a rich and complex dataset.
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