PEARLS: 21 Transients Found in the Three-epoch NIRCam Observations in the Continuous Viewing Zone of the James Webb Space Telescope
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present 21 transients from our three-epoch, four-band NIRCam observations covering 14.16 arcmin 2 in the Spitzer IRAC Dark Field (IDF), taken by the JWST Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science program with a time cadence of ∼6 months. A separate Hubble Space Telescope program provided Advanced Camera for Surveys optical imaging contemporaneous with the second and third epochs of the NIRCam observations. The NIRSpec spectroscopy on three transients confirmed a Type Ia supernova at z = 1.63 and the host galaxies of the other two at z = 2.64 and 1.90, respectively. Combining these with the photometric redshifts ( z ph ) of the host galaxies in the rest of the sample, we find that the transients are in either a “mid- z ” group at z > 1.6 with M V ≲ − 16.0 mag or a “low- z ” group at z < 0.4 with M H ≳ − 14.0 mag. The mid- z transients are consistent with supernovae. In contrast, the low- z transients’ luminosities fall in the range of the so-called “gap transients” between supernovae and novae. However, this latter conclusion is only tentative due to possible catastrophic failures in z ph that could bias them to low- z . Conversely, if they are indeed at z < 0.4, it would be worth studying similar transients in the future. Our work further demonstrates the power of NIRCam in transient science and also shows that it would be more fruitful to carry out a long-term monitoring program with more passbands, a higher cadence, and prompt follow-up spectroscopy. Being in the continuous viewing zone of the JWST, the IDF is an ideal field for this purpose.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: Haojing Yan, Bangzheng Sun, Zhiyuan Ma, Lifan Wang, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Wenlei Chen, Norman A. Grogin, John F. Beacom, S. P. Willner, Seth H. Cohen, Rogier A. Windhorst, Rolf A. Jansen, Cheng Cheng, Jia-Sheng Huang, Min Yun, Hansung B. Gim, Heidi B. Hammel, Stefanie N. Milam, Anton M. Koekemoer, Lei Hu, José M. Diego, Jake Summers, Jordan C. J. D’Silva, Dan Coe, Christopher J. Conselice, Simon P. Driver, Brenda Frye, Madeline A. Marshall, Rafael Ortiz, Nor Pirzkal, Aaron Robotham, Russell E. Ryan, Rachel Honor, Rosalia O’Brien, Giovanni G. Fazio, Nathan J. Adams, Massimo Ricotti, Payaswini Saikia, Nimish P. Hathi, Brent Smith, Benne W. Holwerda, Patrick Kelly
Institutions: University of Missouri, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, Oklahoma State University, Space Telescope Science Institute, The Ohio State University, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Arizona State University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Astronomical Observatories, Montana State University, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Goddard Space Flight Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Instituto de Física de Cantabria, The University of Western Australia, ASTRO-3D, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, International Space Centre, Johns Hopkins University, European Space Agency, University of Manchester, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, New York University Abu Dhabi, University of Louisville, University of Minnesota
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
OpenAlex ID: W7128083588