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AI summary · arXiv: 2611.10103v1 · astro-ph.IM

DMAJOR: A JWST Legacy Survey of Protoplanetary Disks

Benjamin Pope, Yinuo Han, Sean Andrews, Kateryna Andrych, Phil Armitage, William Balmer, Myriam Benisty, Faustine Cantalloube,
and 31 more authorsMax Charles, Ilse Cleeves, Ian Czekala, Louis Desdoigts, Ruobing Dong, Rodrigo Ferrer-Chavez, Katherine Follette, Christian Ginski, Jonah Goldfine, Hayden Greer, Cassandra Hall, Sasha Hinkley, Haochang Jiang, Devika Kamath, Jens Kammerer, Matthew Kenworthy, Milo Langker, Kellen Lawson, Nienke van der Marel, Sebastián Marino, Maksym Mohorian, Christophe Pinte, Daniel Price, Laurent Pueyo, Shrishmoy Ray, Nour Skaf, Floris van der Tak, Peter Tuthill, Miguel Vioque, Jason Wang, Shangjia Zhang
Original paper Submitted to arXiv on 06 Nov. 2026 A White Paper submission on Multi-Cycle Treasury Program Concepts with JWST License: NONEXCLUSIVE-DISTRIB 1.0 Also in: fr

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The essentials

DMAJOR proposes a JWST survey of 91 resolved protoplanetary disks to map their infrared structures, environments, companions, and variability.

Question

The proposal addresses the shortage of uniform, sensitive infrared images of resolved protoplanetary disks. It asks how small grains and surface ice are distributed, how disk structure relates to environment and evolution, and whether planets shape disk structures.

Method

The proposed survey targets 91 accessible Class II disks, using NIRCam coronagraphy in three filter pairs and complementary NIRISS/AMI imaging for suitable bright hosts. It plans an initial observation of every target, with selected time-domain follow-up; the estimated total program is approximately 690 hours, including proposed companion follow-up.

Findings

  • Result The authors identify 91 candidate disks for the proposed uniform survey: 24 in Taurus, 20 in Sco-Cen, and 47 elsewhere.
    See the passage in the paper
    Based on these cuts, we find that there are 24 disks in Taurus, 20 in Sco-Cen (16 in Upper Sco and 4 in Upper Centaurus–Lupus and Lower Centaurus–Crux), and 47 other targets (16 in Lupus, 13 in Ophiuchus, 9 in Chamaeleon, 2 in Orion, 2 in Corona Australis, and 5 field stars), for a total of 91, of which 24 have a documented stellar companion within 10”.
  • Result The survey’s proposed filter set covers the 3-micron water-ice feature and includes continuum filters on either side.
    See the passage in the paper
    For NIRCam, we use 3 sets of short and long wavelength filter combinations (F444W+F200W, F300M+F210M and F360M+F182M), covering the 3 \micron water ice feature with F300M and continuum filters on either side (F210M and F360M).
  • Authors’ interpretation The observing strategy combines NIRCam’s outer-disk imaging with NIRISS/AMI data intended to resolve closer-in sources.
    See the passage in the paper
    With its $\sim 0.6^{\prime\prime}$ inner working angle, a considerable portion of the inner system is obscured behind the occulting spot. This will be filled in with complementary AMI data which can resolve sources down to $0.1^{\prime\prime}$ and has an outer working angle approaching $1^{\prime\prime}$.
  • Result The authors estimate that surveying the full selected population, with specified follow-up assumptions, would require approximately 690 hours.
    See the passage in the paper
    Assuming that 10% of these require follow-up with NIRSpec for embedded companions ($\approx 75$ h), and 10% with further NIRCam coronagraphic epochs to study motions ($\approx 56$ h for two further epochs), we estimate that $\approx 690$ h are required to survey the entire sky’s accessible population of resolved disks.

Limitations

  • The proposed target counts are provisional and may change as knowledge of the targets is updated.
    See the passage in the paper
    In finalizing proposed target lists towards survey execution, these numbers will be updated to reflect the most recent state of knowledge.
  • The survey is deliberately limited to accessible, resolved Class II disks meeting its size and orientation selection criteria.
    See the passage in the paper
    this will include all Class II protoplanetary disks, excluding edge-on systems (which do not require coronagraphy), with estimated outer radii $\gtrsim 1^{\prime\prime}$ (1.5 times the inner working angle of the NIRCam MASK335R coronagraph).

Why it matters

The authors argue that DMAJOR would provide a uniform JWST infrared benchmark sample that links disk-surface structures to ALMA measurements of the midplane and to large-scale environments. Its sensitivity and stability would also enable searches for companions and targeted monitoring of variable disk features.

Written by AI from the paper. Passages are checked word for word against the text we analysed; the rest may contain errors.

AI-generated keywords: JWST; protoplanetary disks; NIRCam; NIRISS/AMI; water ice

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  • Comprehensive Summary
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  • Original abstract
DMAJOR (Disk Motions and Architectures JWST Observational Reference survey) proposes a large, uniform set of infrared images of resolved protoplanetary disks. It addresses a gap in current observations: detailed images are available for relatively few bright systems, making it difficult to determine how disk structures vary with environment and evolutionary stage. The survey aims to connect the distributions of small dust grains and water ice in disk surfaces with the gas, millimeter-sized dust, and larger-scale surroundings. It will also search for companions and variable structures. The proposed sample includes 91 Class II disks accessible to JWST’s NIRCam coronagraph and NIRISS Aperture Masking Interferometer (AMI). Targets are selected primarily for estimated outer radii of about one arcsecond or greater. Edge-on disks and systems already extensively observed with JWST coronagraphy at 3–5 microns are generally excluded. The sample comprises 24 disks in Taurus, 20 in Sco-Cen, and 47 elsewhere, including Lupus, Ophiuchus, and Chamaeleon. Twenty-four targets have a documented stellar companion within 10 arcseconds. The authors note that the target list will need updating before observations begin as knowledge of the systems evolves. NIRCam observations would use the MASK335R coronagraph at one roll angle, with three filter pairs: F444W and F200W, F300M and F210M, and F360M and F182M. The medium-band filters around 3 microns are intended to map the water-ice feature against the neighboring continuum. Because the coronagraph’s inner working angle is about 0.6 arcseconds, NIRISS/AMI would complement it by resolving closer-in structures, down to roughly 0.1 arcseconds, with an outer working angle near one arcsecond. AMI would be used for suitably bright stars, with the proposal estimating sensitivity to point-source companions about 8.75 magnitudes fainter. All targets would receive an initial visit. Selected disks with shadows or candidate embedded planets could receive follow-up observations, with a cadence spanning short intervals of days and longer intervals of months to years. A central feature of the proposal is its model-based data analysis. Instead of relying mainly on conventional reference-star or multiple-roll differential imaging, the team plans to fit differentiable forward models of the instruments to the observations. These models would incorporate calibration information, including wavefront telemetry and detector effects. Targets would be grouped by sky position so that calibration data and a smaller number of reference stars could serve multiple science targets. The authors argue that this approach could reduce observing overheads while improving image quality and sensitivity. The team plans to release open-source analysis software and provide images, spectra, time series, and calibration products through MAST. The proposal estimates about 0.70 hours of charged time per NIRCam filter per roll, based on archival observations from 42 programs. A Taurus/Sco-Cen survey would require about 300 hours, covering the relevant disks while leaving roughly 100 hours for follow-up. Completing the full first-pass survey is estimated to require about 330 hours for NIRCam and 230 hours for AMI. Including estimated follow-up of embedded companions and additional NIRCam epochs brings the total to about 690 hours. These figures describe projected survey capabilities and costs, not scientific results from completed observations. The proposal’s conclusions therefore depend on approval, updates to the target list, and the performance of its calibration and modeling approach. Its selection criteria also restrict the sample to accessible, sufficiently extended disks, while AMI coverage is limited to bright targets. Consequently, the proposed survey would not represent every type of protoplanetary disk.
Created on 10 Nov. 2026

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