Observations of the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 with the JWST MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer

O.C. Jones (Royal Obs. Edinburgh), J. Alvarez-Marquez (ESA Madrid), G.C. Sloan (STScI, UNC), and 21 others

2023, MNRAS, 523, 2519

Full manuscript available locally (PDF) or from the arXiv (2301.13233).

During the commissioning of JWST, the Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) on the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) observed the planetary nebula SMP LMC 058 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The MRS was designed to provide medium resolution (R = λ/Δλ) 3D spectroscopy in the whole MIRI range. SMP LMC 058 is the only source observed in JWST commissioning that is both spatially and spectrally unresolved by the MRS and is a good test of JWST's capabilities. The new MRS spectra reveal a wealth of emission lines not previously detected in this planetary nebula. From these lines, the spectral resolving power (λ/Δλ) of the MRS is confirmed to be in the range R = 4000 to 1500, depending on the MRS spectral sub-band. In addition, the spectra confirm that the carbon-rich dust emission is from SiC grains and that there is little to no time evolution of the SiC dust and emission line strengths over a 17-year epoch. These commissioning data reveal the great potential of the MIRI MRS for the study of circumstellar and interstellar material.

Home Library

Last modified 20 September, 2023. © Gregory C. Sloan and others.