The effect of JWST/NIRSpec data reduction on the retrieval of WASP-39b atmospheric properties

TL;DR

This study evaluates how different JWST/NIRSpec data reduction methods influence the retrieval of atmospheric properties of exoplanet WASP-39b, emphasizing the importance of calibration and reduction strategies for accurate atmospheric characterization.

Contribution

It systematically compares multiple data reduction pipelines and assesses their impact on atmospheric retrievals, highlighting the significance of calibration and saturation effects.

Findings

Data reduction differences cause significant variations in atmospheric parameters.

Excluding saturated regions reduces inter-pipeline discrepancies.

JWST data can constrain aerosol properties, but results depend on reduction methods.

Abstract

The JWST provides exoplanet transit observations with unprecedented spectral coverage, enabling detailed atmospheric characterisation. However, systematics introduced during data reduction can lead to small but significant uncertainties that propagate into atmospheric retrievals, making it essential to assess their impact on inferred properties. We aim to quantify the impact of different JWST/NIRSpec PRISM data-reduction processes as well as the relevance of saturation on the retrieved atmospheric properties of WASP-39b. We also assess whether or not these biases are comparable to those introduced by assumptions made in atmospheric modelling, particularly in the treatment of aerosol extinction. We perform nested-sampling Bayesian retrievals using MultiNest and forward models generated with the Planetary Spectrum Generator. Six independently reduced spectra are analysed, considering both the full wavelength range and versions excluding the saturated region. We further test the effect of including three different cloud-opacity parameterisations. Differences among JWST/NIRSpec data-reduction pipelines lead to substantial variations in retrieved atmospheric properties of WASP-39b, often exceeding one order of magnitude, comparable to uncertainties from modelling assumptions. Excluding the saturated region reduces inter-pipeline dispersion but increases parameter degeneracies. This highlights the need for robust and homogeneous calibration strategies. The results also confirm that JWST data possess the sensitivity required to probe aerosol spectral behaviour, although such constraints remain strongly dependent on the adopted data-reduction strategy.