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Seth Redfield

Publications and source records attributed to Seth Redfield.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Activity in White Dwarf Debris Disks I: Spitzer Legacy Reveals Variability Incompatible with the Canonical Model

This study presents all available, multi-epoch 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m photometry from Spitzer Space Telescope observations of white dwarf debris disks, including weekly cadence observations of 16 relatively bright systems, and 5 h staring-mode observations for five of these. Significant variability is detected in 85 per cent of disks and across all timescales probed, from minutes to weeks to years, where the largest flux changes correlate with the longest time baselines, and the infrared excesses persist utterly. While each source is idiosyncratic, the overall results indicate the most variable disks correlate with those that are the brightest (dustiest), and also among those with detected gas, demonstrating both dust and gas are produced via ongoing collisions. There is a correlation between flux and colour changes, where disks tend to appear redder when dimmer and bluer when brighter, consistent with an excess of small dust grains produced in collisions, followed by a gradual return to equilibrium. The overall results are a drastic departure from the predictions of the canonical - geometrically thin, optically thick - disk in both flux and colour, but are broadly consistent with collisional evolution based on a simple model. The data presented herein constitute a legacy resource that can inform time-series studies of polluted and dusty white dwarfs, and importantly serve as a basis for future disk modelling, beyond the pioneering canonical framework.

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The SPACE Program. I. The featureless spectrum of HD 86226 c challenges sub-Neptune atmosphere trends

Sub-Neptune exoplanets are the most abundant type of planet known today. As they do not have a Solar System counterpart, many open questions exist about their composition and formation. Previous spectroscopic studies rule out aerosol-free hydrogen-helium-dominated atmospheres for many characterized sub-Neptunes but are inconclusive about their exact atmospheric compositions. Here we characterize the hot (Teq=1311K) sub-Neptune HD 86226 c, which orbits its G-type host star. Its high equilibrium temperature prohibits methane-based haze formation, increasing the chances for a clear atmosphere on this planet. We use HST data taken with WFC3 and STIS from the Sub-neptune Planetary Atmosphere Characterization Experiment (SPACE) Program to perform near-infrared 1.1-1.7micrometer transmission spectroscopy and UV characterization of the host star. We report a featureless transmission spectrum that is consistent within 0.4 sigma with a constant transit depth of 418+-14ppm. The amplitude of this spectrum is only 0.01 scale heights for a H/He-dominated atmosphere, excluding a cloud-free solar-metallicity atmosphere on HD 86226 c with a confidence of 6.5 sigma. Based on an atmospheric retrieval analysis and forward models of cloud and haze formation, we find that the featureless spectrum could be due to a metal enrichment [M/H] above 2.3 (3 sigma confidence lower limit) of a cloudless atmosphere, or silicate (MgSiO3), iron (Fe), or manganese sulfide (MnS) clouds. For these species, we perform an investigation of cloud formation in high-metallicity, high-temperature atmospheres. Our results highlight that HD 86226c does not follow the aerosol trend of sub-Neptunes found by previous studies. Follow-up observations with the JWST could determine whether this planet aligns with the recent detections of metal-enriched atmospheres or if it harbors a cloud species otherwise atypical for sub-Neptunes.

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A hot white dwarf merger remnant revealed by an ultraviolet detection of carbon

Atmospheric carbon has been detected in the optical spectra of six hydrogen-rich ultra-massive white dwarfs, revealing large carbon abundances (log C/H > $-$0.5) attributable to the convective dredge-up of internal carbon into thin hydrogen surface layers. These rare white dwarfs likely originate from stellar mergers, making them "smoking guns" for one of the binary evolution channels leading to thermonuclear supernovae. However, optical spectroscopy can uncover only the most carbon-enriched objects, suggesting that many more merger remnants may masquerade as normal pure-hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs. Here, we report the discovery of atmospheric carbon in a Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet spectrum of WD$\,$0525+526, a long-known hydrogen-rich ultra-massive white dwarf. The carbon abundance (log C/H = $-$4.62) is 4$-$5 dex lower than in the six counterparts and thus detectable only at ultraviolet wavelengths. We find that the total masses of hydrogen and helium in the envelope ($10^{-13.8}$ and $10^{-12.6}$ of the total white dwarf mass) are substantially lower than those expected from single-star evolution, implying that WD$\,$0525+526 is a merger remnant. Our modelling indicates that the low surface carbon abundance arises from an envelope structure in which a thin hydrogen-rich layer floats atop a semi-convection zone$-$a process that has been largely overlooked in white dwarfs. Our study highlights the importance of ultraviolet spectroscopy in identifying and characterising merger remnants.

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Exoplanet Atmospheric Escape Observations with the Habitable Worlds Observatory

The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 highlights the importance of advancing research focused on discovering and characterizing habitable worlds. In line with this priority, our goal is to investigate how planetary systems evolve through atmospheric escape and to develop methods for identifying potentially Earth-like planets. By leveraging the ultraviolet (UV) capabilities of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), we can use transit spectroscopy to observe atmospheric escape in exoplanets and explore the processes that shape their evolution, assess the ability of small planets to retain their atmospheres, and search for signs of Earth-like atmospheres. To achieve this, we support the development of a UV spectrograph with moderate- to high-resolution capabilities for point-source observations, coverage of key spectral features in the 100-300 nm range, and detectors that can register high count rates reliably. This article is an adaptation of a science case document developed for the Characterizing Exoplanets Steering Committee within HWO's Solar Systems in Context Working Group.

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AAS Graduate Admissions Task Force: Final report and recommendations

In March of 2024 the AAS formed our Graduate Admissions Task Force (GATF), asking us to produce recommendations aimed at improving the state of graduate admissions in astronomy. The task was a timely one, as the past decade has seen dramatic shifts that are currently being exacerbated by rapidly-shifting funding and policy challenges. The GATF surveyed recent applicants to astronomy graduate school and admissions leaders in degree-granting graduate programs, held in-depth conversations with select programs, and explored how other fields approach admissions. Based on this work, we have quantified recent changes in the astronomy graduate admissions landscape, addressed mismatches between perception and reality, and identified several key ways to address some of our current challenges. In this report we summarize the results of this work and the four main recommendations we believe the AAS should take to make lasting positive changes. We emphasize that the goal of our report, and the GATF's work, is not to help programs select students, or to help applicants get into graduate school. Instead, we have focused on ways to make the admissions process itself more streamlined, fair, and efficient for everyone involved.

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The Case for High Resolution Spectroscopy in the Ultraviolet

The Astro2020 Decadal Survey declared that the baryon cycle is one of the top-priority science topics for current astrophysics. Space instruments with both high spectral resolution and high throughput in the ultraviolet are required for investigations of low density warm and cold gas present in both the \underline{inner} regions of the baryon cycle (interstellar medium, star-exoplanet interactions, pre-main sequence stars, stellar winds, flows and structures driven by supernovae) and the \underline{outer} regions (outflows of matter and energy from galaxies, circumgalactic media). The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on HST has pioneered such studies, but STIS has its limitations and the lifetime of HST is limited. There is a pressing need for future large instruments with high spectral resolution ($R\approx 100,000$) in the 120--320~nm wavelength band such as the present STIS E140H and E230H capabilities, but with increased throughput to study gas in sight lines to faint sources such as M dwarf stars and circumgalactic clouds. Multi-object spectroscopy at high spectral resolution could enhance observational efficiency. This document describes some of the scientific results obtained with STIS and the new science that an enhanced instrument on a large telescope such as HWO could accomplish. We provide examples of the resolution needed for these science investigations.

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The Origin of the Cluster of Local Interstellar Clouds

The interstellar medium within $\rm\approx 15 \; pc$ of the Sun consists of a complex of fifteen diffuse, partially ionized clouds. Located within the Local Bubble, these clouds, known as the Cluster of Local Interstellar Clouds (CLIC), constitute the interstellar environment impinging upon our heliosphere. While each individual cloud can be modeled with a distinct velocity vector, the complex demonstrates a coherent bulk motion suggestive of a common origin. Here we examine two theories for the origin of the CLIC: that it formed due to an ionization front associated with nearby Strömgren spheres and/or due to a nearby supernova explosion that occurred within the pre-evacuated cavity of the Local Bubble. Tracing back the trajectory of the clouds, we disfavor a purely Strömgren sphere origin, given the CLIC's position interior to the surface of the most significant nearby Stromgren sphere and its motion transverse to the sphere's trajectory. Turning to a supernova origin, we model the formation of the CLIC assuming individual clouds have been swept up over time due to the expansion of a supernova remnant in its pressure-driven snowplow phase. We find that the 3D spatial-dynamical properties of the CLIC can be explained by the most recent supernova that exploded in the nearby Upper Centaurus Lupus cluster $\approx \rm 1.2 \; Myr$ ago and propagated into an ambient density of $n \approx 0.04 \;\rm cm^{-3}$. Our model predicts that the formation of the individual CLIC clouds occurred progressively over the past $1 \; \rm Myr$ and offers a natural explanation for the observed distribution, column density, temperature, and magnetic field structure of the complex.

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Excess Ultraviolet Emission at High Galactic Latitudes: A New Horizons View

We present new observations of the cosmic ultraviolet background (CUVB) at high Galactic latitudes ($|b| > 40^{\circ}$), made using the Alice UV spectrograph on board the New Horizons spacecraft. These observations were taken at about 57 AU from the Sun, outside much of the foreground emission affecting previous missions, and allowed a new determination of the spectrum of the CUVB between 912 -- 1100~Å and 1400 -- 1800~Å. We found a linear correlation between the CUVB and the Planck E(B~-~V) with offsets at zero-reddening of $221 \pm 11$ photon units at 1000~Å and $264 \pm 24$ \photu\ at 1500~Å ($4.4 \pm 0.2$ nW m$^{-2}$ sr$^{-1}$ at 1000~Å and $5.3 \pm 0.5$ nW m$^{-2}$ sr$^{-1}$ at 1500~Å). The former is the first firm detection of the offset in the range 912 -- 1100 Å while the latter result confirms previous results from \galex, showing that there is little emission from the Solar System from 1400 -- 1800 Å. About half of the offset may be explained by known sources (the integrated light of unresolved galaxies, unresolved stars, emission from ionized gas, and two-photon emission from warm hydrogen in the halo) with the source of the remaining emission as yet unidentified. There is no detectable emission below the Lyman limit with an upper limit of $3.2 \pm 3.0$ photon units.

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TOI-2458 b: A mini-Neptune consistent with in situ hot Jupiter formation

We report on the discovery and spectroscopic confirmation of TOI-2458 b, a transiting mini-Neptune around an F-type star leaving the main-sequence with a mass of $M_\star=1.05 \pm 0.03$ M$_{\odot}$, a radius of $R_\star=1.31 \pm 0.03$ R$_{\odot}$, an effective temperature of $T_{\rm eff}=6005\pm50$ K, and a metallicity of $-0.10\pm0.05$ dex. By combining TESS photometry with high-resolution spectra acquired with the HARPS spectrograph, we found that the transiting planet has an orbital period of $\sim$3.74 days, a mass of $M_p=13.31\pm0.99$ M$_{\oplus}$ and a radius of $R_p=2.83\pm0.20$ R$_{\oplus}$. The host star TOI-2458 shows a short activity cycle of $\sim$54 days revealed in the HARPS S-index and H$α$ times series. We took the opportunity to investigate other F stars showing activity cycle periods comparable to that of TOI-2458 and found that they have shorter rotation periods than would be expected based on the gyrochronology predictions. In addition, we determined TOI-2458's stellar inclination angle to be $i_\star\,=\,10.6_{-10.6}^{+13.3}$ degrees. We discuss that both phenomena (fast stellar rotation and planet orbit inclination) could be explained by in situ formation of a hot Jupiter interior to TOI-2458 b. It is plausible that this hot Jupiter was recently engulfed by the star. Analysis of HARPS spectra has identified the presence of another planet with a period of $P\,=\,16.55\pm0.06$ days and a minimum mass of $M_p \sin i=10.22\pm1.90$ M$_{\oplus}$. Using dynamical stability analysis, we constrained the mass of this planet to the range $M_{c} \simeq (10, 25)$ M$_{\oplus}$.

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The Mega-MUSCLES Treasury Survey: X-ray to infrared Spectral Energy Distributions of a representative sample of M dwarfs

We present 5-1x10^7 Angstrom spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for twelve M dwarf stars covering spectral types M0-M8. Our SEDs are provided for community use as a sequel to the Measurements of the Ultraviolet Spectral Characteristics of Low-mass Exoplanetary Systems (MUSCLES) survey. The twelve stars include eight known exoplanet hosts and four stars chosen to fill out key parameter space in spectral type and rotation period. The SEDs are constructed from Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectroscopy and XMM Newton, Chandra and/or Swift X-ray observations and completed with various model data, including Lyman alpha reconstructions, PHOENIX optical models, APEC coronal models and Differential Emission Measure models in the currently-unobservable Extreme Ultraviolet. We provide a complete overview of the Mega-MUSCLES program, including a description of the observations, models, and SED construction. The SEDs are available as MAST High-Level Science Products and we describe the various data products here. We also present ensemble measurements from our sample that are of particular relevance to exoplanet science, including the high-energy fluxes in the habitable zone and the FUV/NUV ratio. Combined with MUSCLES, Mega-MUSCLES provides SEDs covering a wide range of M\,dwarf spectral types and ages such that suitable proxies for any M dwarf planet host of interest may be found in our sample. However, we find that ultraviolet and X-ray fluxes can vary even between stars with similar parameters, such that observations of each exoplanet host star will remain the gold standard for interpreting exoplanet atmosphere observations.

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Ultraviolet extinction correlation with 3D dust maps using white dwarfs

Accurate astrometric and photometric measurements from Gaia have led to the construction of 3D dust extinction maps which can now be used for estimating the integrated extinctions of Galactic sources located within 5 kpc. These maps based on optical observations may not be reliable for use in the ultraviolet (UV) which is more sensitive to reddening. Past studies have focused on studying UV extinction using main-sequence stars but lack comparison with 3D dust maps. White dwarfs with well-modeled hydrogen-dominated (DA) atmospheres provide an advantage over main-sequence stars affected by magnetic activity. In this work, we study the variation of UV extinction with 3D dust maps utilising HST and GALEX observations of DA white dwarfs located within 300 pc. We used HST COS spectroscopic data of 76 sight lines to calculate the optical extinction from Si II column densities and validate our results with the kinematic model predictions of the local interstellar medium. Also, we combined GALEX and Gaia photometric observations of 1158 DA white dwarfs to study UV reddening by comparing observed and modeled colour-colour relations. We calculated GALEX non-linearity corrections and derived reddening coefficients (R(NUV-G) = 6.52 +/- 1.53 and R(FUV-G) = 6.04 +/- 2.41) considering their variations with optical extinction (Av < 0.1 mag), and found them to be in good agreement with known extinction laws. HST analysis suggests a positive bias of 0.01-0.02 mag in the optical extinction from 3D maps depending on the Galactic latitude. These results independently confirm the validity of 3D dust maps to deredden the optical and UV observations of white dwarfs.

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Constraints on Remnant Planetary Systems as a Function of Main-Sequence Mass with HST/COS

As the descendants of stars with masses less than 8 M$_{\odot}$ on the main sequence, white dwarfs provide a unique way to constrain planetary occurrence around intermediate-mass stars (spectral types BAF) that are otherwise difficult to measure with radial-velocity or transit surveys. We update the analysis of more than 250 ultraviolet spectra of hot ($13{,}000$ K $< T_{\mathrm{eff}} <$ $30{,}000$ K), young (less than $800$ Myr) white dwarfs collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, which reveals that more than 40% of all white dwarfs show photospheric silicon and sometimes carbon, signpost for the presence of remnant planetary systems. However, the fraction of white dwarfs with metals significantly decreases for massive white dwarfs (M$_{\rm WD}~>$ 0.8 M$_{\odot}$), descendants of stars with masses greater than 3.5 M$_{\odot}$ on the main sequence, as just $11^{+6}_{-4}$% exhibit metal pollution. In contrast, $44\pm6$% of a subset of white dwarfs (M$\rm _{WD}~<$ 0.7 M$_{\odot}$) unbiased by the effects of radiative levitation are actively accreting planetary debris. While the population of massive white dwarfs is expected to be influenced by the outcome of binary evolution, we do not find merger remnants to broadly affect our sample. We connect our measured occurrence rates of metal pollution on massive white dwarfs to empirical constraints into planetary formation and survival around stars with masses greater than 3.5 M$_{\odot}$ on the main sequence.

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The frequency of transiting planetary systems around polluted white dwarfs

This paper investigates the frequency of transiting planetary systems around metal-polluted white dwarfs using high-cadence photometry from ULTRACAM and ULTRASPEC on the ground, and space-based observations with TESS. Within a sample of 313 metal-polluted white dwarfs with available TESS light curves, two systems known to have irregular transits are blindly recovered by box-least-squares and Lomb-Scargle analyses, with no new detections, yielding a transit fraction of 0.8 (-0.4, +0.6) per cent. Planet detection sensitivities are determined using simulated transit injection and recovery for all light curves, producing upper limit occurrences over radii from dwarf to Kronian planets, with periods from 1 h to 27 d. The dearth of short-period, transiting planets orbiting polluted white dwarfs is consistent with engulfment during the giant phases of stellar evolution, and modestly constrains dynamical re-injection of planets to the shortest orbital periods. Based on simple predictions of transit probability, where (R + Rp)/a ~ 0.01, the findings here are nominally consistent with a model where 100 per cent of polluted white dwarfs have circumstellar debris near the Roche limit; however, the small sample size precludes statistical confidence in this result. Single transits are also ruled out in all light curves using a search for correlated outliers, providing weak constraints on the role of Oort-like comet clouds in white dwarf pollution.

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TOI-1408: Discovery and Photodynamical Modeling of a Small Inner Companion to a Hot Jupiter Revealed by TTVs

We report the discovery and characterization of a small planet, TOI-1408 c, on a 2.2-day orbit located interior to a previously known hot Jupiter, TOI-1408 b ($P=4.42$ d, $M=1.86\pm0.02\,M_\mathrm{Jup}$, $R=2.4\pm0.5\,R_\mathrm{Jup}$) that exhibits grazing transits. The two planets are near 2:1 period commensurability, resulting in significant transit timing variations (TTVs) for both planets and transit duration variations (TDVs) for the inner planet. The TTV amplitude for TOI-1408 c is 15% of the planet's orbital period, marking the largest TTV amplitude relative to the orbital period measured to date. Photodynamical modeling of ground-based radial velocity (RV) observations and transit light curves obtained with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and ground-based facilities leads to an inner planet radius of $2.22\pm0.06\,R_\oplus$ and mass of $7.6\pm0.2\,M_\oplus$ that locates the planet into the Sub-Neptune regime. The proximity to the 2:1 period commensurability leads to the libration of the resonant argument of the inner planet. The RV measurements support the existence of a third body with an orbital period of several thousand days. This discovery places the system among the rare systems featuring a hot Jupiter accompanied by an inner low-mass planet.

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Sulphur dioxide in the mid-infrared transmission spectrum of WASP-39b

The recent inference of sulphur dioxide (SO$_2$) in the atmosphere of the hot ($\sim$1100 K), Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from near-infrared JWST observations suggests that photochemistry is a key process in high temperature exoplanet atmospheres. This is due to the low ($<$1 ppb) abundance of SO$_2$ under thermochemical equilibrium, compared to that produced from the photochemistry of H$_2$O and H$_2$S (1-10 ppm). However, the SO$_2$ inference was made from a single, small molecular feature in the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b at 4.05 $μ$m, and therefore the detection of other SO$_2$ absorption bands at different wavelengths is needed to better constrain the SO$_2$ abundance. Here we report the detection of SO$_2$ spectral features at 7.7 and 8.5 $μ$m in the 5-12 $μ$m transmission spectrum of WASP-39b measured by the JWST Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS). Our observations suggest an abundance of SO$_2$ of 0.5-25 ppm (1$σ$ range), consistent with previous findings. In addition to SO$_2$, we find broad water vapour absorption features, as well as an unexplained decrease in the transit depth at wavelengths longer than 10 $μ$m. Fitting the spectrum with a grid of atmospheric forward models, we derive an atmospheric heavy element content (metallicity) for WASP-39b of $\sim$7.1-8.0 $\times$ solar and demonstrate that photochemistry shapes the spectra of WASP-39b across a broad wavelength range.

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Debris Disks can Contaminate Mid-Infrared Exoplanet Spectra: Evidence for a Circumstellar Debris Disk around Exoplanet Host WASP-39

The signal from a transiting planet can be diluted by astrophysical contamination. In the case of circumstellar debris disks, this contamination could start in the mid-infrared and vary as a function of wavelength, which would then change the observed transmission spectrum for any planet in the system. The MIRI/LRS WASP-39b transmission spectrum shows an unexplained dip starting at $\sim$10 $μ$m that could be caused by astrophysical contamination. The spectral energy distribution displays excess flux at similar levels to that which are needed to create the dip in the transmission spectrum. In this article, we show that this dip is consistent with the presence of a bright circumstellar debris disk, at a distance of $>$2 au. We discuss how a circumstellar debris disk like that could affect the atmosphere of WASP-39b. We also show that even faint debris disks can be a source of contamination in MIRI exoplanet spectra.

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Low CI/CO Abundance Ratio Revealed by HST UV Spectroscopy of CO-rich Debris Disks

The origin and evolution of CO gas in debris disks has been debated since its initial detection. The gas could have a primordial origin, as a remnant of the protoplanetary disk or a secondary exocometary origin. This paper investigates the origin of gas in two debris disks, HD110058 and HD131488, using HST observations of CI and CO, which play critical roles in the gas evolution. We fitted several electronic transitions of CI and CO rovibronic bands to derive column densities and temperatures for each system, revealing high CO column densities ($\sim$3-4 orders of magnitude higher than $β$ Pictoris), and low CI/CO ratios in both. Using the exogas model, we simulated the radial evolution of the gas in the debris disk assuming a secondary gas origin. We explored a wide range of CO exocometary release rates and $α$ viscosities, which are the key parameters of the model. Additionally, we incorporated photodissociation due to stellar UV to the exogas model and found that it is negligible for typical CO-rich disks and host stars, even at a few au due to the high radial optical depths in the EUV. We find that the current steady-state secondary release model cannot simultaneously reproduce the CO and CI HST-derived column densities, as it predicts larger CI/CO ratios than observed. Our direct UV measurement of low CI/CO ratios agrees with results derived from recent ALMA findings and may point to vertical layering of CI, additional CI removal, CO shielding processes, or different gas origin scenarios.

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Report of the Working Group on Strategic Exoplanet Initiatives with HST and JWST

This STScI Working Group (WG) was charged with soliciting community feedback and evaluating the strategic planning for exoplanet science with JWST and HST given the high quality of exoplanet observations, the significantly lengthened mission lifetime for JWST, and the pronounced expansion of the field over the last decade. We were charged with identifying key science themes, providing recommendations on issues associated with optimal timing and scale of resources, as well as providing a recommended DDT concept achievable with 500 hours of JWST time. We recommend a DDT concept to survey the atmospheres of rocky-M dwarf exoplanets. It is critical to quickly survey a wide sample of such targets to ascertain if they indeed host significant atmospheres, i.e., define the cosmic shoreline, and to identify high priority targets for future follow-up. It is important for this effort to occur early in the mission lifetime. In the context of strategic planning of exoplanet observations, it is useful to estimate the expected exoplanet observational commitment over JWST's lifetime. Given the current usage associated with exoplanets, extended over 20 cycles, it is anticipated that JWST will dedicate $\approx$30,000 hours to exoplanet observations. We recommend efforts to support GO-driven programs that will contribute to this unprecedented data product of JWST. Of the $\approx$30,000 hours of anticipated JWST full-mission time dedicated to exoplanets, we expect that 1/3 of it could, and perhaps inevitably would, form a comprehensive, high S/N, panchromatic, 10$^4$ hour atmospheric survey of planets. Such an observational sample would be a legacy archive that would address a broad range of science questions across various populations of planets. It would also bridge the direct imaging and transit communities and involve a multitude of techniques to detect and characterize exoplanets.

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