What Is That Smell? Oh, It's Ross 458c: Retrieving Atmospheric Properties with JWST
Hansica Dutt Ganta, Anu Roy
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Faculty Supervisor: Eileen C. Gonzales
The Ross 458 system contains a pair of M dwarfs (Ross 458AB) orbited by a T8 dwarf, Ross 458c. Its mass is estimated to be between 5 and 30 MJup. The main objective of this study is to investigate the formation pathway of Ross 458c by analyzing the bulk Carbon-to-Oxygen (C/O) ratio, which acts as a formation tracer. Here, we present atmospheric retrievals using the JWST NIRSpec G140H, G235H data (0.81–3.13 microns, R=2700), binned to R=300. Our analysis utilizes the Brewster retrieval code to determine the atmospheric C/O ratio and cloud properties. This study's significance lies in advancing the understanding of brown dwarf and planetary formation processes by clarifying whether Ross 458c's origins align more closely with star-like or planet-like formation mechanisms. Here, we present our in-progress retrieval model results.