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Arxiv: A roadmap for the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets with JWST Published: 10/24/2023 5:50:36 PM Updated: 7/22/2024 9:00:04 PM

Paper abstract: Ultra-cool dwarf stars are abundant, long-lived, and uniquely suited toenable the atmospheric study of transiting terrestrial companions with JWST.Amongst them, the most prominent is the M8.5V star TRAPPIST-1 and its sevenplanets. While JWST Cycle 1 observations have started to yield preliminaryinsights into the planets, they have also revealed that their atmosphericexploration requires a better understanding of their host star. Here, wepropose a roadmap to characterize the TRAPPIST-1 system -- and others like it-- in an efficient and robust manner. We notably recommend that -- althoughmore challenging to schedule -- multi-transit windows be prioritized tomitigate the effects of stellar activity and gather up to twice more transitsper JWST hour spent. We conclude that, for such systems, planets cannot bestudied in isolation by small programs, but rather need large-scale, jointlyspace- and ground-based initiatives to fully exploit the capabilities of JWSTfor the exploration of terrestrial planets.