Characterizing persistence in JWST NIRCam flight detectors

Near-IR detectors are commonly reported to display latent images persisting between integration ramps. After array reset, pixels previously subjected to illumination show an anomalous charge accumulation rate that is initially high but decreases to dark-current levels after several hundred seconds. Depending on the flux intensity and observation time, the resulting persistence can dramatically affect science observations if not properly understood. We characterize the persistent behavior of JWST/NIRCam's flight detectors with respect to source intensity, pixel dwell time, and well fill level in order to better understand the underlying physical processes contributing to this phenomenon. Results show that the coefficients of functional fits to the latent signal directly correlate with the stimulating flux as well as the pixel dwell time, enabling predictions of the latent emission. Such relationships provide the potential to model and remove the majority of the persistent flux in NIRCam detectors. Because NIRCam lacks internal calibration lamps, we discuss other alternatives to characterize per-sistence during flight operations.