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Smadar Naoz

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description Smadar Naoz Overview

Smadar Naoz is an Israeli-American astrophysicist and professor at UCLA who specializes in stellar dynamics and exoplanetary science. Her research focuses on the orbital evolution of planetary systems, particularly the dynamics that occur during planet formation and the effects of stellar evolution on planetary orbits. Naoz has published research on the Kozai-Lidov mechanism, which describes how inclined orbits can cause periodic exchanges between eccentricity and inclination. Her work combines theoretical physics with computational modeling to explain observed exoplanet populations and has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature and the Astrophysical Journal.

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What does Smadar Naoz study at UCLA?

Naoz is a theoretical astrophysicist working on orbital dynamics involving exoplanets, stars, black holes and gravitational-wave sources. She is a professor in UCLA's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

What is Smadar Naoz's connection to the Kozai-Lidov mechanism?

Her research has developed applications of the eccentric Kozai-Lidov effect in hierarchical systems containing three or more orbiting bodies. This mechanism can drive large changes in an orbit's eccentricity and inclination over long timescales.

How can Naoz's research explain hot Jupiters?

Her work shows how a distant stellar companion can perturb a giant planet into a highly eccentric orbit. Tidal interactions can then shrink and circularize that orbit, leaving a Jupiter-sized planet very close to its host star.

Where did Smadar Naoz study before joining UCLA?

Naoz completed her doctoral studies in astronomy and astrophysics at Tel Aviv University. Before UCLA, she also held an Einstein Fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.