Calibrating the clock of JWST

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that JWST's clock can be calibrated to achieve sub-second timing accuracy, enabling high-precision infrared time-domain studies previously thought infeasible.

Contribution

The study provides the first empirical calibration of JWST's clock, showing it can reach approximately 100ms accuracy, significantly improving its suitability for rapid time-scale observations.

Findings

JWST clock accuracy measured at 0.12±0.06s

Enables sub-second infrared time-resolved studies

Identifies asymmetric eclipse profile in F322W2 band

Abstract

JWST, despite not being designed to observe astrophysical phenomena that vary on rapid time scales, can be an unparalleled tool for such studies. If timing systematics can be controlled, JWST will be able to open up the sub-second infrared timescale regime. Rapid time-domain studies, such as lag measurements in accreting compact objects and Solar System stellar occultations, require both precise inter-frame timing and knowing when a time series begins to an absolute accuracy significantly below 1s. In this work we present two long-duration observations of the deeply eclipsing double white dwarf system ZTF J153932.16+502738.8, which we use as a natural timing calibrator to measure the absolute timing accuracy of JWST's clock. From our two epochs, we measure an average clock accuracy of $0.12\pm0.06$s, implying that JWST can be used for sub-second time-resolution studies down to the $\sim100$ms level, a factor $\sim5$ improvement upon the pre-launch clock accuracy requirement. We also find an asymmetric eclipse profile in the F322W2 band, which we suggest has a physical origin.