  The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) near-IR channel
is extensively used in time-resolved observations, especially for transiting
exoplanet spectroscopy and brown dwarf and directly imaged exoplanet rotational
phase mapping. The ramp effect is the dominant source of systematics in the
WFC3 for time-resolved observations, which limits its photometric precision.
Current mitigation strategies are based on empirical fits and require
additional orbits "to help the telescope reach a thermal equilibrium". We show
that the ramp effect profiles can be explained and corrected with high fidelity
using charge trapping theories. We also present a model for this process that
can be used to predict and to correct charge trap systematics. Our model is
based on a very small number of parameters that are intrinsic to the detector.
We find that these parameters are very stable between the different datasets,
and we provide best-fit values. Our model is tested with more than 120 orbits
($\sim40$ visits) of WFC3 observations and is proved to be able to provide near
photon noise limited corrections for observations made with both staring and
scanning modes of transiting exoplanets as well as for starting-mode
observations of brown dwarfs. After our model correction, the light curve of
the first orbit in each visit has the same photometric precision as subsequent
orbits, so data from the first orbit need no longer be discarded. Near IR
arrays with the same physical characteristics (e.g., JWST/NIRCam) may also
benefit from the extension of this model, if similar systematic profiles are
observed.
