MOA-2010-BLG-523: "Failed Planet" = RS CVn Star

in Astrophysical Journal (2013), 763

The Galactic bulge source MOA-2010-BLG-523S exhibited short-term deviations from a standard microlensing light curve near the peak of an A [SUB]max[/SUB] ~ 265 high-magnification microlensing event. The ... [more ▼]

The Galactic bulge source MOA-2010-BLG-523S exhibited short-term deviations from a standard microlensing light curve near the peak of an A [SUB]max[/SUB] ~ 265 high-magnification microlensing event. The deviations originally seemed consistent with expectations for a planetary companion to the principal lens. We combine long-term photometric monitoring with a previously published high-resolution spectrum taken near peak to demonstrate that this is an RS CVn variable, so that planetary microlensing is not required to explain the light-curve deviations. This is the first spectroscopically confirmed RS CVn star discovered in the Galactic bulge. Based on observations made with the European Southern Observatory telescopes, Program ID 85.B-0399(I). [less ▲]

The transiting system GJ1214: high-precision defocused transit observations and a search for evidence of transit timing variation

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2013), 549

<BR /> Aims: We present 11 high-precision photometric transitobservations of the transiting super-Earth planet GJ 1214 b. Combining these data with observations from other authors, we investigate the ... [more ▼]

<BR /> Aims: We present 11 high-precision photometric transitobservations of the transiting super-Earth planet GJ 1214 b. Combining these data with observations from other authors, we investigate the ephemeris for possible signs of transit timing variations (TTVs) using a Bayesian approach. <BR /> Methods: The observations were obtained using telescope-defocusing techniques, and achieve a high precision with random errors in the photometry as low as 1 mmag per point. To investigate the possibility of TTVs in the light curve, we calculate the overall probability of a TTV signal using Bayesian methods. <BR /> Results: The observations are used to determine the photometric parameters and the physical properties of the GJ 1214 system. Our results are in good agreement with published values. Individual times of mid-transit are measured with uncertainties as low as 10 s, allowing us to reduce the uncertainty in the orbital period by a factor of two. <BR /> Conclusions: A Bayesian analysis reveals that it is highly improbable that the observed transit times is explained by TTV caused by a planet in the nominal habitable zone, when compared with the simpler alternative of a linear ephemeris. By the MiNDSTEp collaboration from the Danish 1.54 m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory.Photometric data used in the light curves are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/549/A10 [less ▲]

High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - IV. Confirmation of the huge radius of WASP-17 b

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2012), 426

We present photometric observations of four transits in the WASP-17 planetary system, obtained using telescope defocusing techniques and with scatters reaching 0.5 mmag per point. Our revised orbital ... [more ▼]

We present photometric observations of four transits in the WASP-17 planetary system, obtained using telescope defocusing techniques and with scatters reaching 0.5 mmag per point. Our revised orbital period is 4.0 ± 0.6 s longer than previous measurements, a difference of 6.6σ, and does not support the published detections of orbital eccentricity in this system. We model the light curves using the JKTEBOP code and calculate the physical properties of the system by recourse to five sets of theoretical stellar model predictions. The resulting planetary radius, R[SUB]b[/SUB] = 1.932 ± 0.052 ± 0.010 R[SUB]Jup[/SUB] (statistical and systematic errors, respectively), provides confirmation that WASP-17 b is the largest planet currently known. All 14 planets with radii measured to be greater than 1.6 R[SUB]Jup[/SUB] are found around comparatively hot (T[SUB]eff[/SUB] > 5900 K) and massive (M[SUB]A[/SUB] > 1.15 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB]) stars. Chromospheric activity indicators are available for eight of these stars, and all imply a low activity level. The planets have small or zero orbital eccentricities, so tidal effects struggle to explain their large radii. The observed dearth of large planets around small stars may be natural but could also be due to observational biases against deep transits, if these are mistakenly labelled as false positives and so not followed up. Based on data collected by MiNDSTEp with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory.Royal Society University Research Fellow. [less ▲]

OGLE-2008-BLG-510: first automated real-time detection of a weak microlensing anomaly - brown dwarf or stellar binary?

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2012), 424

The microlensing event OGLE-2008-BLG-510 is characterized by an evident asymmetric shape of the peak, promptly detected by the Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search (ARTEMiS) system ... [more ▼]

The microlensing event OGLE-2008-BLG-510 is characterized by an evident asymmetric shape of the peak, promptly detected by the Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search (ARTEMiS) system in real time. The skewness of the light curve appears to be compatible both with binary-lens and binary-source models, including the possibility that the lens system consists of an M dwarf orbited by a brown dwarf. The detection of this microlensing anomaly and our analysis demonstrate that: (1) automated real-time detection of weak microlensing anomalies with immediate feedback is feasible, efficient and sensitive, (2) rather common weak features intrinsically come with ambiguities that are not easily resolved from photometric light curves, (3) a modelling approach that finds all features of parameter space rather than just the 'favourite model' is required and (4) the data quality is most crucial, where systematics can be confused with real features, in particular small higher order effects such as orbital motion signatures. It moreover becomes apparent that events with weak signatures are a silver mine for statistical studies, although not easy to exploit. Clues about the apparent paucity of both brown-dwarf companions and binary-source microlensing events might hide here. Based in part on data collected by MiNDSTEp with the Danish 1.54m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory. [less ▲]

MOA 2010-BLG-477Lb: Constraining the Mass of a Microlensing Planet from Microlensing Parallax, Orbital Motion, and Detection of Blended Light

in Astrophysical Journal (2012), 754

Microlensing detections of cool planets are important for the construction of an unbiased sample to estimate the frequency of planets beyond the snow line, which is where giant planets are thought to form ... [more ▼]

Microlensing detections of cool planets are important for the construction of an unbiased sample to estimate the frequency of planets beyond the snow line, which is where giant planets are thought to form according to the core accretion theory of planet formation. In this paper, we report the discovery of a giant planet detected from the analysis of the light curve of a high-magnification microlensing event MOA 2010-BLG-477. The measured planet-star mass ratio is q = (2.181 ± 0.004) × 10[SUP]-3[/SUP] and the projected separation is s = 1.1228 ± 0.0006 in units of the Einstein radius. The angular Einstein radius is unusually large θ[SUB]E[/SUB] = 1.38 ± 0.11 mas. Combining this measurement with constraints on the "microlens parallax" and the lens flux, we can only limit the host mass to the range 0.13 < M/M [SUB]&sun;[/SUB] < 1.0. In this particular case, the strong degeneracy between microlensing parallax and planet orbital motion prevents us from measuring more accurate host and planet masses. However, we find that adding Bayesian priors from two effects (Galactic model and Keplerian orbit) each independently favors the upper end of this mass range, yielding star and planet masses of M [SUB]*[/SUB] = 0.67[SUP]+0.33[/SUP] [SUB]- 0.13[/SUB] M [SUB]&sun;[/SUB] and m[SUB]p[/SUB] = 1.5[SUP]+0.8[/SUP] [SUB]- 0.3[/SUB] M [SUB]JUP[/SUB] at a distance of D = 2.3 ± 0.6 kpc, and with a semi-major axis of a = 2[SUP]+3[/SUP] [SUB]- 1[/SUB] AU. Finally, we show that the lens mass can be determined from future high-resolution near-IR adaptive optics observations independently from two effects, photometric and astrometric. [less ▲]

Microlensing Binaries Discovered through High-magnification Channel

in Astrophysical Journal (2012), 746

Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected ... [more ▼]

Microlensing can provide a useful tool to probe binary distributions down to low-mass limits of binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of eight binary-lensing events detected through the channel of high-magnification events during the seasons from 2007 to 2010. The perturbations, which are confined near the peak of the light curves, can be easily distinguished from the central perturbations caused by planets. However, the degeneracy between close and wide binary solutions cannot be resolved with a 3σ confidence level for three events, implying that the degeneracy would be an important obstacle in studying binary distributions. The dependence of the degeneracy on the lensing parameters is consistent with a theoretical prediction that the degeneracy becomes severe as the binary separation and the mass ratio deviate from the values of resonant caustics. The measured mass ratio of the event OGLE-2008-BLG-510/MOA-2008-BLG-369 is q ~ 0.1, making the companion of the lens a strong brown dwarf candidate. [less ▲]

MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb: a massive planet orbiting an M dwarf

in Astronomy and Astrophysics (2011), 529

<BR /> Aims: We report the discovery of a planet with a high planet-to-star mass ratio in the microlensing event MOA-2009-BLG-387, which exhibited pronounced deviations over a 12-day interval, one of the ... [more ▼]

<BR /> Aims: We report the discovery of a planet with a high planet-to-star mass ratio in the microlensing event MOA-2009-BLG-387, which exhibited pronounced deviations over a 12-day interval, one of the longest for any planetary event. The host is an M dwarf, with a mass in the range 0.07 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB] < M[SUB]host[/SUB] < 0.49 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB] at 90% confidence. The planet-star mass ratio q = 0.0132 ± 0.003 has been measured extremely well, so at the best-estimated host mass, the planet mass is m[SUB]p[/SUB] = 2.6 Jupiter masses for the median host mass, M = 0.19 M[SUB]&sun;[/SUB]. <BR /> Methods: The host mass is determined from two "higher order" microlensing parameters. One of these, the angular Einstein radius θ[SUB]E[/SUB] = 0.31 ± 0.03 mas has been accurately measured, but the other (the microlens parallax π[SUB]E[/SUB], which is due to the Earth's orbital motion) is highly degenerate with the orbital motion of the planet. We statistically resolve the degeneracy between Earth and planet orbital effects by imposing priors from a Galactic model that specifies the positions and velocities of lenses and sources and a Kepler model of orbits. <BR /> Results: The 90% confidence intervals for the distance, semi-major axis, and period of the planet are 3.5 kpc < D[SUB]L[/SUB] < 7.9 kpc, 1.1 AU < a < 2.7 AU, and 3.8 yr < P < 7.6 yr, respectively. Photometric data is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via <A href="http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/529/A102">http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/529/A102</A> [less ▲]

High-precision photometry by telescope defocusing - III. The transiting planetary system WASP-2 star

in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2010), 408

ABSTRACT We present high-precision photometry of three transits of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-2, obtained by defocusing the telescopes, and achieving scatters of between 0.42 and 0.73 mmag ... [more ▼]

ABSTRACT We present high-precision photometry of three transits of the extrasolar planetary system WASP-2, obtained by defocusing the telescopes, and achieving scatters of between 0.42 and 0.73 mmag versus the best-fitting model. These data are modelled using the JKTEBOP code, and taking into account the light from the recently discovered faint star close to the system. The physical properties of the WASP-2 system are derived using tabulated predictions from five different sets of stellar evolutionary models, allowing both statistical and systematic error bars to be specified. We find the mass and radius of the planet to be M[SUB]b[/SUB] = 0.846 +/- 0.055 +/- 0.023M[SUB]Jup[/SUB] and R[SUB]b[/SUB] = 1.043 +/- 0.029 +/- 0.015R[SUB]Jup[/SUB]. It has a low equilibrium temperature of 1281 +/- 21K, in agreement with a recent finding that it does not have an atmospheric temperature inversion. The first of our transit data sets has a scatter of only 0.42mmag with respect to the best-fitting light-curve model, which to our knowledge is a record for ground-based observations of a transiting extrasolar planetary system. Based on data collected by MiNDSTEp with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory. E-mail: jkt@astro.keele.ac.uk ‡ Royal Society University Research Fellow. [less ▲]

Frequency of Solar-like Systems and of Ice and Gas Giants Beyond the Snow Line from High-magnification Microlensing Events in 2005-2008

in Astrophysical Journal (2010), 720

We present the first measurement of the planet frequency beyond the "snow line," for the planet-to-star mass-ratio interval –4.5 < log q < –2, corresponding to the range of ice giants to gas giants. We ... [more ▼]

We present the first measurement of the planet frequency beyond the "snow line," for the planet-to-star mass-ratio interval –4.5 < log q < –2, corresponding to the range of ice giants to gas giants. We find \endgraf\vbox{\begin{center}$\displaystyle{d^2 N{_{\rm pl}}\over d\log q\, d\log s} = (0.36\pm 0.15)\;{\rm dex}^{-2}$\end{center}}\noindentat the mean mass ratio q = 5 × 10 –4 with no discernible deviation from a flat (Öpik's law) distribution in log-projected separation s. The determination is based on a sample of six planets detected from intensive follow-up observations of high-magnification ( A>200) microlensing events during 2005-2008. The sampled host stars have a typical mass M host ~ 0.5 M sun [less ▲]

Realisation of a fully-deterministic microlensing observing strategy for inferring planet populations

in Astronomische Nachrichten (2010), 331

Within less than 15 years, the count of known planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has risen from none to more than 400 with detections arising from four successfully applied techniques: Doppler ... [more ▼]

Within less than 15 years, the count of known planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has risen from none to more than 400 with detections arising from four successfully applied techniques: Doppler-wobbles, planetary transits, gravitational microlensing, and direct imaging. While the hunt for twin Earths is on, a statistically well-defined sample of the population of planets in all their variety is required for probing models of planet formation and orbital evolution so that the origin of planets that harbour life, like and including ours, can be understood. Given the different characteristics of the detection techniques, a complete picture can only arise from a combination of their respective results. Microlensing observations are well-suited to reveal statistical properties of the population of planets orbiting stars in either the Galactic disk or bulge from microlensing observations, but a mandatory requirement is the adoption of strictly-deterministic criteria for selecting targets and identifying signals. Here, we describe a fully-deterministic strategy realised by means of the ARTEMiS (Automated Robotic Terrestrial Exoplanet Microlensing Search) system at the Danish 1.54-m telescope at ESO La Silla between June and August 2008 as part of the MiNDSTEp (Microlensing Network for the Detection of Small Terrestrial Exoplanets) campaign, making use of immediate feedback on suspected anomalies recognized by the SIGNALMEN anomaly detector. We demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of such an approach, and thereby the readiness for studying planet populations down to Earth mass and even below, with ground-based observations. While the quality of the real-time photometry is a crucial factor on the efficiency of the campaign, an impairment of the target selection by data of bad quality can be successfully avoided. With a smaller slew time, smaller dead time, and higher through-put, modern robotic telescopes could significantly outperform the 1.54-m Danish, whereas lucky-imaging cameras could set new standards for high-precision follow-up monitoring of microlensing events. Based on data collected by the MiNDSTEp consortium with the Danish 1.54-m telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory. [less ▲]