Microlens Parallax Measurements Research Articles

Evidence of Systematic Errors in Spitzer Microlens Parallax Measurements

Abstract The microlensing parallax campaign with the Spitzer space telescope aims to measure masses and distances of microlensing events seen toward the Galactic bulge, with a focus on planetary microlensing events. The hope is to measure how the distribution of planets depends on position within the Galaxy. In this paper, we compare 50 microlens parallax measurements from the 2015 Spitzer campaign to three different Galactic models commonly used in microlensing analyses, and we find that ≥74% of these events have microlensing parallax values higher than the medians predicted by Galactic models. The Anderson–Darling tests indicate probabilities of p AD < 6.6 × 10−5 for these three Galactic models, while the binomial probability of such a large fraction of large microlensing parallax values is <4.6 × 10−4. Given that many Spitzer light curves show evidence of large correlated errors, we conclude that this discrepancy is probably due to systematic errors in the Spitzer photometry. We find formally acceptable probabilities of p AD > 0.05 for subsamples of events with bright source stars (I S ≤ 17.75) or Spitzer coverage of the light-curve peak. This indicates that the systematic errors have a more serious influence on faint events, especially when the light-curve peak is not covered by Spitzer. We find that multiplying an error bar renormalization factor of 2.2 by the reported error bars on the Spitzer microlensing parallax measurements provides reasonable agreement with all three Galactic models. However, corrections to the uncertainties in the Spitzer photometry itself are a more effective way to address the systematic errors.

AUGMENTING WFIRST MICROLENSING WITH A GROUND-BASED TELESCOPE NETWORK

Augmenting the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) microlensing campaigns with intensive observations from a ground-based network of wide-field survey telescopes would have several major advantages. First, it would enable full two-dimensional (2-D) vector microlens parallax measurements for a substantial fraction of low-mass lenses as well as planetary and binary events that show caustic crossing features. For a significant fraction of the free-floating planet (FFP) events and all caustic-crossing planetary/binary events, these 2-D parallax measurements directly lead to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) of the lens object (or lens system). For even more events, the complementary ground-based observations will yield 1-D parallax measurements. Together with the 1-D parallaxes from WFIRST alone, they can probe the entire mass range M ≳ M ⊕ . For luminous lenses, such 1-D parallax measurements can be promoted to complete solutions (mass, distance, transverse velocity) by high-resolution imaging. This would provide crucial information not only about the hosts of planets and other lenses, but also enable a much more precise Galactic model. Other benefits of such a survey include improved understanding of binaries (particularly with low mass primaries), and sensitivity to distant ice-giant and gas-giant companions of WFIRST lenses that cannot be detected by WFIRST itself due to its restricted observing windows. Existing ground-based microlensing surveys can be employed if WFIRST is pointed at lower-extinction fields than is currently envisaged. This would come at some cost to the event rate. Therefore the benefits of improved characterization of lenses must be weighed against these costs.

MASS MEASUREMENTS OF ISOLATED OBJECTS FROM SPACE-BASED MICROLENSING

ABSTRACT We report on the mass and distance measurements of two single-lens events from the 2015 Spitzer microlensing campaign. With both finite-source effect and microlens parallax measurements, we find that the lens of OGLE-2015-BLG-1268 is very likely a brown dwarf (BD). Assuming that the source star lies behind the same amount of dust as the Bulge red clump, we find the lens is a 45 ± 7 BD at 5.9 ± 1.0 kpc. The lens of of the second event, OGLE-2015-BLG-0763, is a 0.50 ± 0.04 star at 6.9 ± 1.0 kpc. We show that the probability to definitively measure the mass of isolated microlenses is dramatically increased once simultaneous ground- and space-based observations are conducted.

CRITERIA FOR SAMPLE SELECTION TO MAXIMIZE PLANET SENSITIVITY AND YIELD FROM SPACE-BASED MICROLENS PARALLAX SURVEYS

Space-based microlens parallax measurements are a powerful tool for understanding planet populations, especially their distribution throughout the Galaxy. However, if space-based observations of the microlensing events must be specifically targeted, it is crucial that microlensing events enter the parallax sample without reference to the known presence or absence of planets. Hence, it is vital to define objective criteria for selecting events where possible and to carefully consider and minimize the selection biases where not possible so that the final sample represents a controlled experiment. We present objective criteria for initiating observations and determining their cadence for a subset of events, and we define procedures for isolating subjective decision making from information about detected planets for the remainder of events. We also define procedures to resolve conflicts between subjective and objective selections. These procedures maximize planet sensitivity of the sample as a whole by allowing for planet detections even if they occur before satellite observations for objectively-selected events and by helping to trigger fruitful follow-up observations for subjectively-chosen events. This paper represents our public commitment to these procedures, which is a necessary component of enforcing objectivity on the experimental protocol.

PATHWAY TO THE GALACTIC DISTRIBUTION OF PLANETS: COMBINEDSPITZERAND GROUND-BASED MICROLENS PARALLAX MEASUREMENTS OF 21 SINGLE-LENS EVENTS

We present microlens parallax measurements for 21 (apparently) isolated lenses observed toward the Galactic bulge that were imaged simultaneously from Earth and Spitzer, which was ~1 AU West of Earth in projection. We combine these measurements with a kinematic model of the Galaxy to derive distance estimates for each lens, with error bars that are small compared to the Sun's Galactocentric distance. The ensemble therefore yields a well-defined cumulative distribution of lens distances. In principle it is possible to compare this distribution against a set of planets detected in the same experiment in order to measure the Galactic distribution of planets. Since these Spitzer observations yielded only one planet, this is not yet possible in practice. However, it will become possible as larger samples are accumulated.

CHEAP SPACE-BASED MICROLENS PARALLAXES FOR HIGH-MAGNIFICATION EVENTS

We show that for high-magnification (Amax > 100) microlensing events, accurate microlens parallaxes can be obtained from three or fewer photometric measurements from a small telescope on a satellite in solar orbit at ~1 AU from Earth. This is 1--2 orders of magnitude less observing resources than are required for standard space-based parallaxes. Such microlens parallax measurements would yield accurate mass and distance measurements to the lens for all cases in which finite-source effects were observed from the ground over peak. This would include virtually all high-magnification events with detected planets and a substantial fraction of those without. Hence it would permit accurate estimates of the Galactic distribution of planets.

Resolution of the MACHO‐LMC‐5 Puzzle: The Jerk‐Parallax Microlens Degeneracy

By extending the constant-acceleration analysis of Smith, Mao, & Paczynski to include jerk, I show that microlens parallax measurements are subject to a four-fold discrete degeneracy. The new degeneracy is characterized by a projected velocity \tilde v_j = -(3/4)\csc\beta_\ec(\cos^2\psi\sin^2\beta_\ec+\sin^2\psi)^{3/2}v_earth, where \beta_\ec is the ecliptic latitude, \psi is the phase of the Earth's orbit relative to opposition at the time of the event maximum, and v_earth=30 km/s is the speed of the Earth. The degeneracy becomes important when the lens projected velocity \tilde v is of order \tilde v_j. For events toward the Large Magellanic Cloud, \tilde v_j\simeq (3/4)v_earth, so this degeneracy is important primarily for lenses in the Milky Way disk. In particular, it solves the puzzle of MACHO-LMC-5, whose microlens parallax measurement had yielded mass and distance determinations for the lens that were inconsistent with photometric estimates. Toward the Galactic bulge, \tilde v_j ranges from about 0.2 km/s at the solstice to about 200 km/s at the equinoxes, so the effect of the degeneracy depends strongly on the peak time of the event. The degeneracy applies mainly to events with Einstein timescales, t_E < yr/2pi.