Calculating Occultation Light Curves using Wavelets: Exponential Atmospheres and the Constraints of Static Stability

Abstract

The signatures of waves are seen during many high-quality ground-based refractive stellar occultations by solar system atmospheres. We present a new forward-modeling technique for ground-based stellar occultations based on wavelet decomposition. If profiles of refractivity are written as the product of an exponential and a wavelet decomposition, then we can analytically write the profiles of the bending angles and the bending angle derivatives that are needed to calculate occultation light curves. Requiring that the atmosphere is statically stable places limits on the amplitudes of atmospheric waves and their effect on the observed light curve.

Accepted September 11, 2025 in Planetary Science Journal. Paper and machine-readable tables are at first author's homepage, https://www2.boulder.swri.edu/~layoung/