Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit. 

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acd1b5/pdf

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Abstract We report the discovery of an accreting supermassive black hole at z = 8.679. This galaxy, denoted here as CEERS_1019, was previously discovered as a Ly α -break galaxy by Hubble with a Ly α redshift from Keck. As part of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey, we have observed this source with JWST/NIRSpec, MIRI, NIRCam, and NIRCam/WFSS and uncovered a plethora of emission lines. The H β line is best fit by a narrow plus a broad component, where the latter is measured at 2.5 σ with an FWHM ∼1200 km s −1 . We conclude this originates in the broadline region of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). This is supported by the presence of weak high-ionization lines (N V, N IV], and C III]), as well as a spatial point-source component. The implied mass of the black hole (BH) is log ( M BH / M ⊙ ) = 6.95 ± 0.37, and we estimate that it is accreting at 1.2 ± 0.5 times the Eddington limit. The 1–8 μ m photometric spectral energy distribution shows a continuum dominated by starlight and constrains the host galaxy to be massive (log M/M ⊙ ∼9.5) and highly star-forming (star formation rate, or SFR ∼ 30 M ⊙ yr −1 ; log sSFR ∼ − 7.9 yr −1 ). The line ratios show that the gas is metal-poor ( Z / Z ⊙ ∼ 0.1), dense ( n e ∼ 10 3 cm −3 ), and highly ionized (log U ∼ − 2.1). We use this present highest-redshift AGN discovery to place constraints on BH seeding models and find that a combination of either super-Eddington accretion from stellar seeds or Eddington accretion from very massive BH seeds is required to form this object. 

A CEERS Discovery of an Accreting Supermassive Black Hole 570 Myr after the Big Bang: Identifying a Progenitor of Massive z &gt; 6 Quasars


 Characterizing the prevalence and properties of faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the early Universe is key for understanding the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and determining their role in cosmic reionization. We perform a spectroscopic search for broad Hα emitters at z ≈ 4–6 using deep JWST/NIRCam imaging and wide field slitless spectroscopy from the EIGER and FRESCO surveys. We identify 20 Hα lines at z = 4.2–5.5 that have broad components with line widths from ∼1200–3700 km s−1, contributing ∼30%–90% of the total line flux. We interpret these broad components as being powered by accretion onto SMBHs with implied masses ∼107–8
 M
 ⊙. In the UV luminosity range M
 UV,AGN+host = −21 to −18, we measure number densities of ≈10−5 cMpc−3. This is an order of magnitude higher than expected from extrapolating quasar UV luminosity functions (LFs). Yet, such AGN are found in only <1% of star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 5. The number density discrepancy is much lower when compared to the broad Hα LF. The SMBH mass function agrees with large cosmological simulations. In two objects, we detect complex Hα profiles that we tentatively interpret as caused by absorption signatures from dense gas fueling SMBH growth and outflows. We may be witnessing early AGN feedback that will clear dust-free pathways through which more massive blue quasars are seen. We uncover a strong correlation between reddening and the fraction of total galaxy luminosity arising from faint AGN. This implies that early SMBH growth is highly obscured and that faint AGN are only minor contributors to cosmic reionization.

Little Red Dots: An Abundant Population of Faint Active Galactic Nuclei at z ∼ 5 Revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST Surveys

The James Webb Space Telescope, planned to extend the scientific discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope, will be a powerful observational tool for the investigation of the first stars and galaxies. With a 6.5‐m hexagonal mirror cooled to ∼40 K, and an instrument package covering 0.6 to 28 μm with imaging, spectroscopy with R up to ∼3000, and coronography, it will be capable of observing predicted primeval objects down to flux levels of a few nJy (10 σ) at 2 μm. Operated like the Hubble telescope from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, it will be available for general observers by proposals, to be solicited a year before launch. It has a required lifetime of 5 years and fuel for 10.

pdf/the-james-webb-space-telescope-mission-4bq2h0esml.pdf

The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) is one of the four focal plane instruments on the James Webb Space Telescope. In this paper, we summarize the in-orbit performance of NIRSpec, as derived from data collected during its commissioning campaign and the first few months of nominal science operations. More specifically, we discuss the performance of some critical hardware components such as the two NIRSpec Hawaii-2RG detectors, wheel mechanisms, and the microshutter array. We also summarize the accuracy of the two target acquisition procedures used to accurately place science targets into the slit apertures, discuss the current status of the spectrophotometric and wavelength calibration of NIRSpec spectra, and provide the “as measured” sensitivity in all NIRSpec science modes. Finally, we point out a few important considerations for the preparation of NIRSpec science programs.

/pdf/in-orbit-performance-of-the-near-infrared-spectrograph-2cwbydly.pdf

In-orbit Performance of the Near-infrared Spectrograph NIRSpec on the James Webb Space Telescope

The Near Infrared Camera for the James Webb Space Telescope is delivering the imagery that astronomers have hoped for ever since JWST was proposed back in the 1990s. In the Commissioning Period that extended from right after launch to early July 2022 NIRCam has been subjected to a number of performance tests and operational checks. The camera is exceeding pre-launch expectations in virtually all areas with very few surprises discovered in flight. NIRCam also delivered the imagery needed by the Wavefront Sensing Team for use in aligning the telescope mirror segments (\citealt{Acton_etal2022}, \citealt{McElwain_etal2022}).

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acac53/pdf

NIRCam Performance on JWST In Flight

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NIRCam Performance on JWST In Flight