The JWST Disk Infrared Spectroscopic Chemistry Survey
The JWST Disk Infrared Spectral Chemistry Survey (JDISCS) is a collaboration that unifies multiple JWST programs to observe a well-characterized sample of protoplanetary disks with the MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer at high spectral contrast, all reduced with a consistent pipeline. By pairing mid-infrared spectra with complementary ALMA imaging and surveys, JDISCS builds comparative chemical inventories across disk ages, environments, and morphologies to link disk chemistry with planet formation.
As of Cycle 4, JDISCS includes 14 General Observing Programs and more than 250 unique source observations, with a team of researchers across 20+ institutions. The programs are designed to measure inner-disk compositions within ~10 au (e.g., H₂O, CO, CO₂, hydrocarbons), constrain elemental ratios like C/O, search rare isotopologues, and compare irradiated and isolated environments, while coordinated JWST–ALMA analyses link these inner reservoirs to outer-disk structure and pebble transport across evolutionary stages.
JDISCS also aims to advance interpretation with unified modeling that links infrared spectra, dust–pebble evolution, and disk chemistry across ages and environments to place our observations on firm physical footing. We have developed open-source tools that enable interactive spectral analysis and LTE slab modeling to accelerate discovery across the survey.
You can read about the JDISCS calibration pipeline and learn how to access the calibrated data here.
Figure from Arulanantham et al. (2024)