NIRISS aperture masking interferometry: an overview of science opportunities

JWST’s Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) includes an Aperture Masking Interferometry (AMI) mode designed to be used between 2.7μm and 4.8μm. At these wavelengths, it will have the highest angular resolution of any mode on JWST, and, for faint targets, of any existing or planned infrastructure. NIRISS AMI is uniquely suited to detect thermal emission of young massive planets and will permit the characterization of the mid-IR flux of exoplanets discovered by the GPI and SPHERE adaptive optics surveys. It will also directly detect massive planets found by GAIA through astrometric accelerations, providing the first opportunity ever to get both a mass and a flux measurement for non-transiting giant planets. NIRISS AMI will also enable the study of the nuclear environment of AGNs.