Observing exoplanets with the JWST NIRCam grisms

The near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will incorporate 2 identical grisms in each of its 2 long wavelength channels. These transmission gratings have been added to assist with the coarse phasing of the JWST telescope, but they will also be used for slitless wide-field scientific observations over selectable regions of the λ = 2.4 − 5.0 μm wavelength range at spectroscopic resolution R ≡ λ/δλ ≃ 2000. We describe the grism design details and their expected performance in NIRCam. The grisms will provide point-source continuum sensitivity of approximately AB = 23 mag in 10,000 s exposures with S/N = 5 when binned to R = 1000. This is approximately a factor of 3 worse than expected for the JWST NIRSpec instrument, but the NIRCam grisms provide better spatial resolution, better spectrophotometric precision, and complete field coverage. The grisms will be especially useful for high precision spectrophotometric observations of transiting exoplanets. We expect that R = 500 spectra of the primary transits and secondary eclipses of Jupiter-sized exoplanets can be acquired at moderate or high signal-to-noise for stars as faint as M = 10 − 12 mag in 1000 s of integration time, and even bright stars (V = 5 mag) should be observable without saturation. We also discuss briefly how these observations will open up new areas of exoplanet science and suggest other unique scientific applications of the grisms

Observing exoplanets with the JWST NIRCam grisms

The near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will incorporate 2 identical grisms in each of its 2 long wavelength channels. These transmission gratings have been added to assist with the coarse phasing of the JWST telescope, but they will also be used for slitless wide-field scientific observations over selectable regions of the λ = 2.4 − 5.0 μm wavelength range at spectroscopic resolution R ≡ λ/δλ ≃ 2000. We describe the grism design details and their expected performance in NIRCam. The grisms will provide point-source continuum sensitivity of approximately AB = 23 mag in 10,000 s exposures with S/N = 5 when binned to R = 1000. This is approximately a factor of 3 worse than expected for the JWST NIRSpec instrument, but the NIRCam grisms provide better spatial resolution, better spectrophotometric precision, and complete field coverage. The grisms will be especially useful for high precision spectrophotometric observations of transiting exoplanets. We expect that R = 500 spectra of the primary transits and secondary eclipses of Jupiter-sized exoplanets can be acquired at moderate or high signal-to-noise for stars as faint as M = 10 − 12 mag in 1000 s of integration time, and even bright stars (V = 5 mag) should be observable without saturation. We also discuss briefly how these observations will open up new areas of exoplanet science and suggest other unique scientific applications of the grisms

The JWST/NIRCam coronagraph flight occulters

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope will have a Lyot coronagraph for high contrast imaging of extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks at λ=2 - 5 μm. Half-tone patterns are used to create graded-transmission image plane masks. These are generated using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching of a metal layer on an antireflection coated sapphire substrate. We report here on the manufacture and evaluation of the flight occulters

NIRCam coronagraphic Lyot stop: design, fabrication, and testing

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide a coronagraphic imaging capability to search for extrasolar planets in the 2 - 5 microns wavelength range. This capability is realized by a set of Lyot pupil stops with patterns matching the occulting mask located in the JWST intermediate focal plane in the NIRCam optical system. The complex patterns with transparent apertures are made by photolithographic process using a metal coating in the opaque region. The optical density needs to be high for the opaque region, and transmission needs to be high at the aperture. In addition, the Lyot stop needs to operate under cryogenic conditions. We will report on the Lyot stop design, fabrication and testing in this paper

JWST/NIRCam coronagraph: mask design and fabrication

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope will provide coronagraphic imaging from λ =1-5 μm of high contrast sources such as extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks. A Lyot coronagraph with a variety of circular and wedge-shaped occulting masks and matching Lyot pupil stops will be implemented. The occulters approximate grayscale transmission profiles using halftone binary patterns comprising wavelength-sized metal dots on anti-reflection coated sapphire substrates. The mask patterns are being created in the Micro Devices Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using electron beam lithography. Samples of these occulters have been successfully evaluated in a coronagraphic testbed. In a separate process, the complex apertures that form the Lyot stops will be deposited onto optical wedges. The NIRCam coronagraph flight components are expected to be completed this year

The JWST/NIRCam coronagraph flight occulters

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope will have a Lyot coronagraph for high contrast imaging of extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks at λ=2 - 5 μm. Half-tone patterns are used to create graded-transmission image plane masks. These are generated using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching of a metal layer on an antireflection coated sapphire substrate. We report here on the manufacture and evaluation of the flight occulters

NIRCam coronagraphic Lyot stop: design, fabrication, and testing

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide a coronagraphic imaging capability to search for extrasolar planets in the 2 - 5 microns wavelength range. This capability is realized by a set of Lyot pupil stops with patterns matching the occulting mask located in the JWST intermediate focal plane in the NIRCam optical system. The complex patterns with transparent apertures are made by photolithographic process using a metal coating in the opaque region. The optical density needs to be high for the opaque region, and transmission needs to be high at the aperture. In addition, the Lyot stop needs to operate under cryogenic conditions. We will report on the Lyot stop design, fabrication and testing in this paper

JWST/NIRCam coronagraph: mask design and fabrication

The NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope will provide coronagraphic imaging from λ =1-5 μm of high contrast sources such as extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks. A Lyot coronagraph with a variety of circular and wedge-shaped occulting masks and matching Lyot pupil stops will be implemented. The occulters approximate grayscale transmission profiles using halftone binary patterns comprising wavelength-sized metal dots on anti-reflection coated sapphire substrates. The mask patterns are being created in the Micro Devices Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using electron beam lithography. Samples of these occulters have been successfully evaluated in a coronagraphic testbed. In a separate process, the complex apertures that form the Lyot stops will be deposited onto optical wedges. The NIRCam coronagraph flight components are expected to be completed this year

Environmental and thermomechanical stability of thin films for optical applications.

We have selected two materials to study the stability of thin-films: (1) TbFe, a candidate material for optical data storage, for environmental stability study; (2) ZrO₂, a dielectric material for optical coatings, for thermo-mechanical stability study. In the research on TbFe sputtered films, we applied surface plasma resonance as a vehicle to study the optical constants of a single layer TbFe film and to study the instability of a multilayer system of TbFe, with protective layer Al₂O₃ and coupling layer MgF₂ (structure: glass/MgF₂/TbFe/Al₂O₃/air), as a function of time. The results show that with our multilayer system there was only slight environmental instability during the first day and the system stabilized thereafter. However the TbFe film did exhibit some oxidation on exposure to 200°C for two hours. Water, which may penetrate into the MgF₂ layer from the side may accelerate the oxidation. It is therefore necessary to have side protection and to avoid long period exposure to high temperature. In the research on ZrO₂ evaporated films, with and without ion-assisted deposition (IAD), we performed interferometry in a vacuum oven to study total stress of films as a function of temperature. On thermal cycling, all the plots of stress versus temperature for IAD and non-IAD films exhibit hysteresis. In order to understand the hysteresis, we studied microstructure and water effects. The results show that the likely mechanisms are water desorption, recrystallization and phase transformation and we believe that a combination of all three occurred. Our results also show that ion assisted deposition (increasing deposition temperature tends to give more tensile stress) and high deposition temperature (increasing deposition temperature tends to give less tensile stress) gave more stable films both thermo-mechanically and optically. It is well known that the thermal stress is due to thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between substrate and film. But if thermal expansion coefficients are to be derived from thermal stress, then great care must be taken to eliminate the water effect, otherwise, the results will be totally wrong. For better results, in-situ thermal stress studies are needed

Study on Synergistic Mechanism of Water Environment Governance in Dongting Lake Basin Based on Evolutionary Game

Watershed water environment governance has always been a research hotspot in the field of transboundary governance. Based on evolutionary game theory, the regional governments of East Dongting Lake, West Dongting Lake and South Dongting Lake were taken as participants to construct a tripartite game model, and the game evolution strategies under unconstrained and constrained conditions were explored respectively, so as to analyze the influencing factors of the construction of synergistic mechanism of water environment governance in Dongting Lake Basin. The results show that: (1) Under the unconstrained condition, the stable strategy of the evolutionary game is “two parties govern, one party does not govern”. However, without intervention of external restraint measures for a long time, the players keep learning and improving according to the game results, and the final synergy mechanism cannot be achieved. (2) Under constraint conditions, the composition of synergistic mechanism mainly depends on the size of ecological compensation and punishment given by the superior government and the duration of constraint by the superior government