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Microlensing Constraints on Low-Mass Companions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

B. Scott Gaudi*
Affiliation:
Hubble Fellow, School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ, 08540

Abstract

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Microlensing is sensitive to binary, brown dwarf (BD), and planetary companions to normal stars in the Galactic bulge with separations between about 1–10 AU. The accurate, densely-sampled photometry of microlensing events needed to detect planetary companions has been achieved by several follow-up collaborations. Detailed analysis of microlensing events toward the bulge demonstrates that less than 45% of M-dwarfs in the bulge have MJup companions between 1 and 5 AU. Detection of binary and BD companions using microlensing is considerably easier; however, the interpretation is hampered by their non-perturbative influence on the parent lightcurve. I demonstrate that ~ 25% of BD companions with separations 1 – 10AU should be detectable with survey-quality data (~ 1 day sampling and ~ 5% photometry). Survey data is more amenable to generic, brute-force analysis methods and less prone to selection biases. An analysis of the ~ 1500 microlensing events detected by OGLE-III in the next three years should test whether the BD desert exists at separations 1 – 10AU from M-dwarfs in the Galactic bulge.

Type
Part 6. Searches for Substellar Companions
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2001 

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