Atmospheric Forecast for the Hot Jupiter WASP-52b: Exploring the Chemical Recipes of a Hot Jupiter Behind the Shade of Spotty Starlight
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Unocculted stellar contamination (starspots or faculae) can strongly influence exoplanet transmission spectroscopy. Therefore, incorporating these stellar active regions into atmospheric retrieval algorithms is crucial for reliably inferring exoplanet atmosphere properties.
We recently observed a hot Jupiter orbiting a highly active star, WASP-52b, with JWST to directly test methods to disentangle stellar inhomogeneities from planetary atmospheric features. I will present the full optical to near-infrared (0.6-5.2 μm) transmission spectrum of WASP-52b from two JWST transits, one with NIRISS/SOSS and one with NIRSpec G395H. Since our WASP-52b transmission spectra are strongly sculpted by both occulted starspot crossing events during the transit and unocculted active regions, we incorporate starspots and faculae into our retrieval analysis. I will present our detailed constraints on the chemical inventory and aerosol properties of WASP-52b’s atmosphere, demonstrating strategies to overcome stellar contamination of transmission spectra.