Dr. Sierra Grant (Carnegie Science (EPL))

The sensitivity and spectral and spatial resolution of JWST is transforming our understanding of chemistry in the planet-forming regions of protoplanetary disks. Trends discovered using large samples show a change in the observed inner disk composition as a function of host mass: disks around Sun-like stars are full of water, while disks around low-mass stars and brown dwarfs are rich in carbon-bearing molecules, with a plethora of hydrocarbons. Using high-contrast imaging techniques, we show that this carbon-rich chemistry extends down into the planetary-mass regime, with the first detections of molecules in a potentially moon-forming disk around a planetary-mass companion. I will present these trends and show how these exquisite data allow us to detect rare isotopologues that are helping us to interpret this divergent chemistry.