Fusion of JWST data: Demonstrating practical feasibility

Abstract

Data fusion is a computational process widely used in Earth observation to generate high-resolution hyperspectral data cubes with two spatial and one spectral dimensions. It merges data from instruments with complementary characteristics: one with low spatial but high spectral resolutions, and another with high spatial but low spectral resolutions. In astronomy, the use of such instrumental combinations is becoming increasingly common, making data fusion a promising approach for enhancing observational data. Until now, however, its application to astronomical data has remained unsuccessful. We present the first successful astronomical data fusion using JWST integral field spectroscopy with NIRSpec and imaging across 29 filters with NIRCam. Applied to observations of the d203-506 protoplanetary disk in Orion and of Titan, our method produces fused hyperspectral cubes with NIRCam spatial and NIRSpec spectral resolutions. These results pave the way for extracting the physical properties from JWST data with unprecedented spatial resolution and showcase the transformative potential of data fusion in astronomy.