James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has ushered in a new era in exoplanetary science, providing an unprecedented view of distant worlds through its broad wavelength coverage and exquisite sensitivity. With instruments such as NIRSpec, NIRCam, and MIRI, JWST allows detailed spectroscopic observations across the near- and mid-infrared, where key molecular features — like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and more complex species—are most prominent.

JWST the first facility able to probe exoplanet atmospheres with the precision needed to explore their chemical and thermal structures in depth. This is a significant step forward, compared to past facilities like Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer.

For our group, JWST represents a transformative opportunity to test and refine atmospheric models and retrieval techniques. We work on data reduction and processing of JWST time series (from transit, eclipde, and phase-curves) and also directly imaged observations. These datas allow to infer the properties of exoplanets and test our modeling frameworks. We aim to bridge the gap between raw observations and physical understanding, ensuring that the insights drawn from JWST spectra are robust and meaningful.

Beyond individual targets, JWST also enables comparative exoplanetology — the study of atmospheric diversity across a population of planets. Our research leverages this potential by connecting observational trends to underlying processes such as irradiation, metallicity, and atmospheric circulation. The results from JWST are not only reshaping our view of well-studied planets like hot Jupiters, but also providing a foundation for the statistical surveys that will follow with Ariel. Together, JWST and future missions will allow us to build a coherent picture of atmospheric physics across the full spectrum of exoplanet types.