Erik Solhaug
About
I'm a PhD Candidate in Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. I study the evolution of the universe and, in particular, the galaxies that inhabit it through observations with telescopes across the world. I'm a seasoned telescope observer. I travel regularly to conduct observations at the Magellan Telescopes in Chile, and I've observed at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii and with the Nordic Optical Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands.
I earned my B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Washington in 2022, graduating cum laude with Honors in Physics: Comprehensive Physics and Honors in Astronomy, and I received my M.S. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Chicago in 2024. I'm currently working towards my PhD.
My research focuses on gravitationally lensed quasars, which are among the most luminous objects in the universe, powered by accretion disks around supermassive black holes. Together with my advisor, Mike Gladders, I am leading an effort to find wide-separation lensed quasars among billions of astronomical objects in survey data, which has resulted in an increase in the known population by 44%. I use multi-wavelength spectroscopic observations and rigorous statistical analysis to understand the connection between quasars and their host galaxies, gaining insights into galaxy evolution at cosmic noon.
A central challenge is finding extremely rare objects in huge, noisy survey datasets. I develop probabilistic candidate-ranking methods that broaden the search space while controlling false positives, and I write the Python tools to download, process and inspect the data at scale.
Another aspect of this research is time-delay cosmography, a technique where we measure the Hubble constant — the expansion rate of the universe, and indirectly its age — by analyzing time delays between multiple images of lensed quasars. This work bridges observational astrophysics with cosmology, helping us better understand the long and complex history of the cosmos.
Publications
Lead-Author Papers
- Solhaug, Erik; Gladders, Michael D.; Kisare, Andi M.; et al. (2026). "COOL-LAMPS IX: A Rare Duo of Quasars Each Lensed by a Single Massive Galaxy Cluster." The Astrophysical Journal, 1010, 167.
- Solhaug, Erik; Chen, Hsiao-Wen; Chen, Mandy C.; et al. (2025). "Deciphering Spatially Resolved Lyman-alpha Profiles in Reionization Analogs: The Sunburst Arc at Cosmic Noon." The Open Journal of Astrophysics, 8, 35.
- Piacitelli, Daniel R.; Solhaug, Erik (co-lead and corresponding author); Faerman, Yakov; and McQuinn, Matthew. (2022). "Absorption-based circumgalactic medium line emission estimates." MNRAS, 516, 3049-3067.
Co-Author Papers
- Khullar, G. et al. (including Solhaug, E.). (2026). "LEGGOS I: The JWST LEGGOS Survey — LEnsing and Galaxy Growth: Observing Substructures — Unpacks the Nature of Clumpy Star Formation and Quenching in Gravitationally Lensed Galaxies beyond Cosmic Noon." arXiv, 2606.20845.
- Rivera-Thorsen, T.E. et al. (including Solhaug, E.). (2026). "Lyman Continuum escaping from in-situ formed stars in a tidal bridge at z = 3." Astronomy & Astrophysics, 707, L7.
- Rivera-Thorsen, T.E. et al. (including Solhaug, E.). (2026). "The Sunburst Arc with JWST. IV. The importance of interaction, turbulence, and feedback for Lyman-continuum escape." The Astrophysical Journal, 1000, 204.
- Hutchison, T.A. et al. (including Solhaug, E.). (2025). "JWST & the Waz Arc I: Spatially Resolving the Physical Conditions within a Post-Starburst Galaxy at Redshift 5 with NIRSpec IFS." arXiv, 2512.02000.
- Florian, M.K. et al. (including Solhaug, E.). (2025). "JWST Catches a Strongly Gravitationally Lensed AGN In Transition from Type II to Type I." arXiv, 2510.10376.
Presentations
- "Expanding the Sample of Cluster-Lensed Quasars for Time-Delay Cosmography." Presented at the Time Delay Cosmography Workshop at UCLA on April 28, 2026.
- Solhaug, Erik et al. (2025). "Escaping the Clouds: Unraveling Sub-kpc Variations in Lyman-alpha Profiles and Ionizing Photon Escape in the Sunburst Arc." American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts, 245, 202.36. Presented at the American Astronomical Society Winter 2025 Meeting in Washington D.C.
- "Identifying and Estimating the Faint Light Emitted from Diffuse Gas Around Galaxies." Presented at the 2022 Mary Gates Research Symposium.
Contact
Email: [email protected]