arXiv subjects

Arif Solmaz

Publications and source records attributed to Arif Solmaz.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The role of the Hubble Space Telescope in advancing our understanding of atmospheric escape in exoplanets

An important evolutionary pathway for planetary atmospheres is escape to space, which has been studied on Earth and Mars for several decades and more recently in exoplanets. A particularly important regime is the hydrodynamic escape, wherein atmospheric mass escapes the planet at high rates in a collisional fluid outflow. This process is used to partly explain the early evolution of rocky planets in and out of the Solar System, as well as key aspects of exoplanet demographics. Hydrodynamic escape is not occurring in the Solar System planets, so our only option for such observations is through exoplanets. The ultraviolet (UV) capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are fundamental to detect hydrodynamic escape and measure the resulting mass-loss rates for a range of planetary systems and to identify targets for surveys with the Habitable Worlds Observatory. We discuss here what kinds of observations and instrument modes are necessary to continue studying atmospheric escape in exoplanets for the next decade, as well as how to advance our understanding of planetary evolution and habitability.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Testing the performance of cross-correlation techniques to search for molecular features in JWST NIRSpec G395H observations of transiting exoplanets

Cross-correlations techniques offer an alternative method to search for molecular species in JWST observations of exoplanet atmospheres. In a previous article, we applied cross-correlation functions for the first time to JWST NIRSpec/G395H observations of exoplanet atmospheres, resulting in a detection of CO in the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b and a tentative detection of CO isotopologues. Here we present an improved version of our cross-correlation technique and an investigation into how efficient the technique is when searching for other molecules in JWST NIRSpec/G395H data. Our search results in the detection of more molecules via cross-correlations in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, including $\rm H_{2}O$ and $\rm CO_{2}$, and confirms the CO detection. This result proves that cross-correlations are a robust and computationally cheap alternative method to search for molecular species in transmission spectra observed with JWST. We also searched for other molecules ($\rm CH_{4}$, $\rm NH_{3}$, $\rm SO_{2}$, $\rm N_{2}O$, $\rm H_{2}S$, $\rm PH_{3}$, $\rm O_{3}$ and $\rm C_{2}H_{2}$) that were not detected, for which we provide the definition of their cross-correlation baselines for future searches of those molecules in other targets. We find that that the cross-correlation search of each molecule is more efficient over limited wavelength regions of the spectrum, where the signal for that molecule dominates over other molecules, than over broad wavelength ranges. In general we also find that Gaussian normalization is the most efficient normalization mode for the generation of the molecular templates.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2021

Çukurova University Space Sciences and Solar Energy Research and Application Center (UZAYMER): I. Observing Conditions and Ongoing Projects

Çukurova University Space Sciences and Solar Energy Research and Application Center (UZAYMER) was founded in 1991. In this work, we present current research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics and solar energy and the astronomical infrastructure of the center. In addition, the astrometrological status of UZAYMER was investigated using long-term (20 years) data from the AstroGIS database and moderate-term (7 years) measurements taken from the meteorological station. Astronomical extinction coefficients, seeing conditions and light pollution measurements of UZAYMER were also obtained. Furthermore, the observation limits were determined for the UZAYMER 50 cm telescope (UT50) and the observation efficiency was evaluated. UZAYMER has reached a level that can support both national and international scientific collaborations with its improved technical infrastructure and increased human resources. With its annual number of clear nights, favorable weather conditions and dark sky values, UZAYMER ranks 972 in Group A of the Suitability Index for Astronomical Sites (SIAS) among the 2141 observatories.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2021

BO Ari Light Curve Analysis using Ground-Based and TESS Data

We present new BVR band photometric light curves of BO Aries obtained in 2020 and combined them with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves. We obtained times of minima based on Gaussian and Cauchy distributions and then applied the Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) method to measure the amount of uncertainty from our CCD photometry and TESS data. A new ephemeris of the binary system was computed employing 204 times of minimum. The light curves were analyzed using the Wilson-Devinney binary code combined with the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. For this light curve solution, we considered a dark spot on the primary component. We conclude that this binary is an A-type system with a mass ratio of q=0.2074+-0.0001, an orbital inclination of i=82.18+-0.02 deg, and a fillout factor of f=75.7+-0.8%. Our results for the a(Rsun) and q parameters are consistent with the results of the Xu-Dong Zhang and Sheng-Bang Qian (2020) model. The absolute parameters of the two components were calculated and the distance estimate of the binary system was found to be 142+-9 pc.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2019

Astro2020 APC White Paper: Astronomy should be in the clouds

Commodity cloud computing, as provided by commercial vendors such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, has revolutionized computing in many sectors. With the advent of a new class of big data, public access astronomical facility such as LSST, DKIST, and WFIRST, there exists a real opportunity to combine these missions with cloud computing platforms and fundamentally change the way astronomical data is collected, processed, archived, and curated. Making these changes in a cross-mission, coordinated way can provide unprecedented economies of scale in personnel, data collection and management, archiving, algorithm and software development and, most importantly, science.

astro-ph.IM↗