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Register a new userSpitzer + VLTI-GRAVITY Measure the Lens Mass of a Nearby Microlensing Event
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We report the lens mass and distance measurements of the nearby microlensing event TCP J05074264+2447555. We measure the microlens parallax vector ${pi}_{rm E}$ using Spitzer and ground-based light curves with constraints on the direction of lens-source relative proper motion derived from Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) GRAVITY observations. Combining this ${pi}_{rm E}$ determination with the angular Einstein radius $theta_{rm E}$ measured by VLTI GRAVITY observations, we find that the lens is a star with mass $M_{rm L} = 0.495 pm 0.063~M_{odot}$ at a distance $D_{rm L} = 429 pm 21~{rm pc}$. We find that the blended light basically all comes from the lens. The lens-source proper motion is $mu_{rm rel,hel} = 26.55 pm 0.36~{rm mas,yr^{-1}}$, so with currently available adaptive-optics (AO) instruments, the lens and source can be resolved in 2021. This is the first microlensing event whose lens mass is unambiguously measured by interferometry + satellite parallax observations, which opens a new window for mass measurements of isolated objects such as stellar-mass black holes.
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We used the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution catalogue, part of the Gaia Data Release 1, to search for candidate astrometric microlensing events expected to occur within the remaining lifetime of the Gaia satellite. Our search yielded one promising candidate. We predict that the nearby DQ type white dwarf LAWD 37 (WD 1142-645) will lens a background star and will reach closest approach on November 11th 2019 ($pm$ 4 days) with impact parameter $380pm10$ mas. This will produce an apparent maximum deviation of the source position of $2.8pm0.1$ mas. In the most propitious circumstance, Gaia will be able to determine the mass of LAWD 37 to $sim3%$. This mass determination will provide an independent check on atmospheric models of white dwarfs with helium rich atmospheres, as well as tests of white dwarf mass radius relationships and evolutionary theory.
We present a new approach in the study of the Initial Mass function (IMF) in external galaxies based on quasar microlensing observations. We use measurements of quasar microlensing magnifications in 24 lensed quasars to estimate the average mass of the stellar population in the lens galaxies without any a priori assumption on the shape of the IMF. The estimated mean mass of the stars is $langle M rangle =0.16^{+0.05}_{-0.08} M_odot$ (at 68% confidence level). We use this average mass to put constraints into two important parameters characterizing the IMF of lens galaxies: the low-mass slope, $alpha_2$, and the low-mass cutoff, $M_{low}$. Combining these constraints with prior information based on lensing, stellar dynamics, and absorption spectral feature analysis, we calculate the posterior probability distribution for the parameters $M_{low}$ and $alpha_2$. We estimate values for the low-mass end slope of the IMF $langle alpha_2rangle=-2.6pm 0.9$ (heavier than that of the Milky Way) and for the low-mass cutoff $langle M_{low}rangle=0.13pm0.07$. These results are in good agreement with previous studies on these parameters and remain stable against the choice of different suitable priors.
We analyze the gravitational binary-lensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0156, for which the lensing light curve displays pronounced deviations induced by microlens-parallax effects. The light curve exhibits 3 distinctive widely-separated peaks and we find that the multiple-peak feature provides a very tight constraint on the microlens-parallax effect, enabling us to precisely measure the microlens parallax $pi_{rm E}$. All the peaks are densely and continuously covered from high-cadence survey observations using globally located telescopes and the analysis of the peaks leads to the precise measurement of the angular Einstein radius $theta_{rm E}$. From the combination of the measured $pi_{rm E}$ and $theta_{rm E}$, we determine the physical parameters of the lens. It is found that the lens is a binary composed of two M dwarfs with masses $M_1=0.18pm 0.01 M_odot$ and $M_2=0.16pm 0.01 M_odot$ located at a distance $D_{rm L}= 1.35pm 0.09 {rm kpc}$. According to the estimated lens mass and distance, the flux from the lens comprises an important fraction, $sim 25%$, of the blended flux. The bright nature of the lens combined with the high relative lens-source motion, $mu=6.94pm 0.50 {rm mas} {rm yr}^{-1}$, suggests that the lens can be directly observed from future high-resolution follow-up observations.
We present the analysis of the caustic-crossing binary microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-0039. Thanks to the very long duration of the event, with an event time scale $t_{rm E}sim 130$ days, the microlens parallax is precisely measured despite its small value of $piesim 0.06$. The analysis of the well-resolved caustic crossings during both the source stars entrance and exit of the caustic yields the angular Einstein radius $thetaesim 0.6$~mas. The measured $pie$ and $thetae$ indicate that the lens is a binary composed of two stars with masses $sim 1.0~M_odot$ and $sim 0.15~M_odot$, and it is located at a distance of $sim 6$ kpc. From the color and brightness of the lens estimated from the determined lens mass and distance, it is expected that $sim 2/3$ of the $I$-band blended flux comes from the lens. Therefore, the event is a rare case of a bright lens event for which high-resolution follow-up observations can confirm the nature of the lens.
The VLTI instrument GRAVITY combines the beams from four telescopes and provides phase-referenced imaging as well as precision-astrometry of order 10 microarcseconds by observing two celestial objects in dual-field mode. Their angular separation can be determined from their differential OPD (dOPD) when the internal dOPDs in the interferometer are known. Here, we present the general overview of the novel metrology system which performs these measurements. The metrology consists of a three-beam laser system and a homodyne detection scheme for three-beam interference using phase-shifting interferometry in combination with lock-in amplifiers. Via this approach the metrology system measures dOPDs on a nanometer-level.
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