arXiv subjects

A. Udalski

Publications and source records attributed to A. Udalski.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars. V. R Coronae Borealis Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The fifth part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars presents 23 R CrB (RCB) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). 17 of these objects have been spectroscopically confirmed by previous studies, while 6 stars are new candidates for RCB variables. We publish the VI multi-epoch OGLE photometry for all objects. We use the sample of carbon-rich long-period variables released in the previous part of this catalog to select objects with severe drops in luminosity, i.e. with the DY-Per-like light curves. DY Per stars are often related to R CrB variables. We detect at least 600 candidates for DY Per stars, mostly among dust enshrouded giants. We notice that our candidate DY Per stars form a continuity with other carbon-rich long-period variables, so it seems that DY Per stars do not constitute a separate group of variable stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2010

A Cold Neptune-Mass Planet OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb: Cold Neptunes Are Common

We present the discovery of a Neptune-mass planet OGLE-2007-BLG-368Lb with a planet-star mass ratio of q=[9.5 +/- 2.1] x 10^{-5} via gravitational microlensing. The planetary deviation was detected in real-time thanks to the high cadence of the MOA survey, real-time light curve monitoring and intensive follow-up observations. A Bayesian analysis returns the stellar mass and distance at M_l = 0.64_{-0.26}^{+0.21} M_\sun and D_l = 5.9_{-1.4}^{+0.9} kpc, respectively, so the mass and separation of the planet are M_p = 20_{-8}^{+7} M_\oplus and a = 3.3_{-0.8}^{+1.4} AU, respectively. This discovery adds another cold Neptune-mass planet to the planetary sample discovered by microlensing, which now comprise four cold Neptune/Super-Earths, five gas giant planets, and another sub-Saturn mass planet whose nature is unclear. The discovery of these ten cold exoplanets by the microlensing method implies that the mass ratio function of cold exoplanets scales as dN_{\rm pl}/d\log q \propto q^{-0.7 +/- 0.2} with a 95% confidence level upper limit of n < -0.35 (where dN_{\rm pl}/d\log q \propto q^n). As microlensing is most sensitive to planets beyond the snow-line, this implies that Neptune-mass planets are at least three times more common than Jupiters in this region at the 95% confidence level.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2010

Chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge as traced by microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. II. Ages, metallicities, detailed elemental abundances, and connections to the Galactic thick disc

The Bulge is the least understood major stellar population of the Milky Way. Most of what we know about the formation and evolution of the Bulge comes from bright giant stars. The underlying assumption that giants represent all the stars, and accurately trace the chemical evolution of a stellar population, is under debate. In particular, recent observations of a few microlensed dwarf stars give a very different picture of the evolution of the Bulge from that given by the giant stars. [ABRIDGED] We perform a detailed elemental abundance analysis of dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge, based on high-resolution spectra that were obtained while the stars were optically magnified during gravitational microlensing events. [ABRIDGED] We present detailed elemental abundances and stellar ages for six new dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge. Combining these with previous events, here re-analysed with the same methods, we study a homogeneous sample of 15 stars, which constitute the largest sample to date of microlensed dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge. We find that the stars span the full range of metallicities from [Fe/H]=-0.72 to +0.54, and an average metallicity of <[Fe/H]>=-0.08+/-0.47, close to the average metallicity based on giant stars in the Bulge. Furthermore, the stars follow well-defined abundance trends, that for [Fe/H]<0 are very similar to those of the local Galactic thick disc. This suggests that the Bulge and the thick disc have had, at least partially, comparable chemical histories. At sub-solar metallicities we find the Bulge dwarf stars to have consistently old ages, while at super-solar metallicities we find a wide range of ages. Using the new age and abundance results from the microlensed dwarf stars we investigate possible formation scenarios for the Bulge.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2010

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

We present the first measurement of planet frequency beyond the "snow line" for planet/star mass-ratios[-4.5 200) microlensing events during 2005-8. The sample host stars have typical mass M_host 0.5 Msun, and detection is sensitive to planets over a range of projected separations (R_E/s_max,R_E*s_max), where R_E 3.5 AU sqrt(M_host/Msun) is the Einstein radius and s_max (q/5e-5)^{2/3}, corresponding to deprojected separations ~3 times the "snow line". Though frenetic, the observations constitute a "controlled experiment", which permits measurement of absolute planet frequency. High-mag events are rare, but the high-mag channel is efficient: half of high-mag events were successfully monitored and half of these yielded planet detections. The planet frequency derived from microlensing is a factor 7 larger than from RV studies at factor ~25 smaller separations [2<P<2000 days]. However, this difference is basically consistent with the gradient derived from RV studies (when extrapolated well beyond the separations from which it is measured). This suggests a universal separation distribution across 2 dex in semi-major axis, 2 dex in mass ratio, and 0.3 dex in host mass. Finally, if all planetary systems were "analogs" of the Solar System, our sample would have yielded 18.2 planets (11.4 "Jupiters", 6.4 "Saturns", 0.3 "Uranuses", 0.2 "Neptunes") including 6.1 systems with 2 or more planet detections. This compares to 6 planets including one 2-planet system in the actual sample, implying a first estimate of 1/6 for the frequency of solar-like systems.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

Be/X-ray binary SXP6.85 undergoes large Type II outburst in the Small Magellanic Cloud

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Be/X-ray binary pulsar SXP6.85 = XTE J0103-728 underwent a large Type II outburst beginning on 2008 August 10. The source was consistently seen for the following 20 weeks (MJD = 54688 - 54830). We present X-ray timing and spectroscopic analysis of the source as part of our ongoing Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) monitoring campaign and INTEGRAL key programme monitoring the SMC and 47 Tuc. A comparison with the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) III light curve of the Be counterpart shows the X-ray outbursts from this source coincide with times of optical maximum. We attribute this to the circumstellar disk increasing in size, causing mass accretion onto the neutron star. Ground based IR photometry and H-alpha spectroscopy obtained during the outburst are used as a measure of the size of the circumstellar disk and lend support to this picture. In addition, folded RXTE light curves seem to indicate complex changes in the geometry of the accretion regions on the surface of the neutron star, which may be indicative of an inhomogeneous density distribution in the circumstellar material causing a variable accretion rate onto the neutron star. Finally, the assumed inclination of the system and H-alpha equivalent width measurements are used to make a simplistic estimate of the size of the circumstellar disk.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Interpretation of Strong Short-Term Central Perturbations in the Light Curves of Moderate-Magnification Microlensing Events

To improve the planet detection efficiency, current planetary microlensing experiments are focused on high-magnification events searching for planetary signals near the peak of lensing light curves. However, it is known that central perturbations can also be produced by binary companions and thus it is important to distinguish planetary signals from those induced by binary companions. In this paper, we analyze the light curves of microlensing events OGLE-2007-BLG-137/MOA-2007-BLG-091, OGLE-2007-BLG-355/MOA-2007-BLG-278, and MOA-2007-BLG-199/OGLE-2007-BLG-419, for all of which exhibit short-term perturbations near the peaks of the light curves. From detailed modeling of the light curves, we find that the perturbations of the events are caused by binary companions rather than planets. From close examination of the light curves combined with the underlying physical geometry of the lens system obtained from modeling, we find that the short time-scale caustic-crossing feature occurring at a low or a moderate base magnification with an additional secondary perturbation is a typical feature of binary-lens events and thus can be used for the discrimination between the binary and planetary interpretations.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

Quantifying Quasar Variability As Part of a General Approach To Classifying Continuously Varying Sources

Robust fast methods to classify variable light curves in large sky surveys are becoming increasingly important. While it is relatively straightforward to identify common periodic stars and particular transient events (supernovae, novae, microlensing), there is no equivalent for non-periodic continuously varying sources (quasars, aperiodic stellar variability). In this paper we present a fast method for modeling and classifying such sources. We demonstrate the method using ~ 86,000 variable sources from the OGLE-II survey of the LMC and ~ 2,700 mid-IR selected quasar candidates from the OGLE-III survey of the LMC and SMC. We discuss the location of common variability classes in the parameter space of the model. In particular we show that quasars occupy a distinct region of variability space, providing a simple quantitative approach to the variability selection of quasars.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

Millimagnitude Photometry for Transiting Extrasolar Planetary Candidates. V. Follow-up of 30 OGLE Transits. New Candidates

We used VLT/VIMOS images in the V band to obtain light curves of extrasolar planetary transits OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113, and candidate planetary transits: OGLE-TR-82, OGLE-TR-86, OGLE-TR-91, OGLE-TR-106, OGLE-TR-109, OGLE-TR-110, OGLE-TR-159, OGLE-TR-167, OGLE-TR-170, OGLE-TR-171. Using difference imaging photometry, we were able to achieve millimagnitude errors in the individual data points. We present the analysis of the data and the light curves, by measuring transit amplitudes and ephemerides, and by calculating geometrical parameters for some of the systems. We observed 9 OGLE objects at the predicted transit moments. Two other transits were shifted in time by a few hours. For another seven objects we expected to observe transits during the VIMOS run, but they were not detected. The stars OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113 are probably the only OGLE objects in the observed sample to host planets, with the other objects being very likely eclipsing binaries or multiple systems. In this paper we also report on four new transiting candidates which we have found in the data.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars. IV. Long-Period Variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The fourth part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars presents 91 995 long-period variables (LPVs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This sample consists of 79 200 OGLE Small Amplitude Red Giants (OSARGs), 11 128 semiregular variables (SRVs) and 1667 Mira stars. The catalog data include basic photometric and astrometric properties of these stars, long-term multi-epoch VI photometry and finding charts. We describe the methods used for the identification and classification of LPVs. The distribution of I-band amplitudes for carbon-rich stars shows two maxima, corresponding to Miras and SRVs. Such a distinction between Miras and SRVs is not obvious for oxygen-rich stars. We notice additional period-luminosity sequence located between Wood's sequences C and C' and populated by SRVs.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Elemental abundances in the Galactic bulge from microlensed dwarf stars

We present elemental abundances of 13 microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars in the Galactic bulge, which constitute the largest sample to date. We show that these stars span the full range of metallicity from Fe/H=-0.8 to +0.4, and that they follow well-defined abundance trends, coincident with those of the Galactic thick disc.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Extreme Magnification Microlensing Event OGLE-2008-BLG-279: Strong Limits on Planetary Companions to the Lens Star

We analyze the extreme high-magnification microlensing event OGLE-2008-BLG-279, which peaked at a maximum magnification of A ~ 1600 on 30 May 2008. The peak of this event exhibits both finite-source effects and terrestrial parallax, from which we determine the mass of the lens, M_l=0.64 +/- 0.10 M_Sun, and its distance, D_l = 4.0 +/- 0.6. We rule out Jupiter-mass planetary companions to the lens star for projected separations in the range 0.5-20 AU. More generally, we find that this event was sensitive to planets with masses as small as 0.2 M_Earth ~= 2 M_Mars with projected separations near the Einstein ring (~3 AU).

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

Mass measurement of a single unseen star and planetary detection efficiency for OGLE 2007-BLG-050

We analyze OGLE-2007-BLG-050, a high magnification microlensing event (A ~ 432) whose peak occurred on 2 May, 2007, with pronounced finite-source and parallax effects. We compute planet detection efficiencies for this event in order to determine its sensitivity to the presence of planets around the lens star. Both finite-source and parallax effects permit a measurement of the angular Einstein radius θ_E = 0.48 +/- 0.01 mas and the parallax π_E = 0.12 +/- 0.03, leading to an estimate of the lens mass M = 0.50 +/- 0.14 M_Sun and its distance to the observer D_L = 5.5 +/- 0.4 kpc. This is only the second determination of a reasonably precise (<30%) mass estimate for an isolated unseen object, using any method. This allows us to calculate the planetary detection efficiency in physical units (r_\perp, m_p), where r_\perp is the projected planet-star separation and m_p is the planet mass. When computing planet detection efficiency, we did not find any planetary signature and our detection efficiency results reveal significant sensitivity to Neptune-mass planets, and to a lesser extent Earth-mass planets in some configurations. Indeed, Jupiter and Neptune-mass planets are excluded with a high confidence for a large projected separation range between the planet and the lens star, respectively [0.6 - 10] and [1.4 - 4] AU, and Earth-mass planets are excluded with a 10% confidence in the lensing zone, i.e. [1.8 - 3.1] AU.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

OGLE-2009-BLG-076S - The most metal-poor dwarf star in the Galactic bulge

Measurements based on a large number of red giant stars suggest a broad metallicity distribution function (MDF) for the Galactic bulge, centered on [Fe/H]=-0.1. However, recently, a new opportunity emerged to utilize temporary flux amplification (by factors of ~100 or more) of faint dwarf stars in the Bulge that are gravitationally lensed, making them observable with high-resolution spectrographs during a short observational window. Surprisingly, of the first 6 stars measured, 5 have [Fe/H]>+0.30, suggesting a highly skewed MDF, inconsistent with observations of giant stars. Here we present a detailed elemental abundance analysis of OGLE-2009-BLG-076S, based on a high-resolution spectrum obtained with the UVES spectrograph at the ESO Very Large Telescope. Our results indicate it is the most metal-poor dwarf star in the Bulge yet observed, with [Fe/H]=-0.76. Our results argue against a strong selection effect disfavoring metal-poor microlensed stars. It is possible that small number statistics is responsible for the giant/dwarf Bulge MDF discrepancy. Should this discrepancy survive when larger numbers of Bulge dwarf stars (soon to be available) are analyzed, it may require modification of our understanding of either Bulge formation models, or the behavior of metal-rich giant stars.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The OGLE View of Microlensing towards the Magellanic Clouds. I. A Trickle of Events in the OGLE-II LMC data

We present the results from the OGLE-II survey (1996-2000) towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which has the aim of detecting the microlensing phenomena caused by dark matter compact objects in the Galactic Halo (Machos). We use high resolution HST images of the OGLE fields and derive the correction for the number of monitored stars in each field. This also yield blending distributions which we use in 'catalogue level' Monte Carlo simulations of the microlensing events in order to calculate the detection efficiency of the events. We detect two candidates for microlensing events in the All Stars Sample, which translates into an optical depth of 0.43+-0.33x 10e-7. If both events were due to Macho the fraction of mass of compact dark matter objects in the Galactic halo would be 8+-6 per cent. This optical depth, however, along with the characteristics of the events, seems to be consistent with the self-lensing scenario, i.e., self-lensing alone is sufficient to explain the observed microlensing signal. Our results indicate a non-detection of Machos lensing towards the LMC with an upper limit on their abundance in the Galactic halo of 19 per cent for M=0.4 Msun and 10 per cent for masses between 0.01 and 0.2 Msun.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The Extreme Microlensing Event OGLE-2007-BLG-224: Terrestrial Parallax Observation of a Thick-Disk Brown Dwarf

Parallax is the most fundamental technique to measure distances to astronomical objects. Although terrestrial parallax was pioneered over 2000 years ago by Hipparchus (ca. 140 BCE) to measure the distance to the Moon, the baseline of the Earth is so small that terrestrial parallax can generally only be applied to objects in the Solar System. However, there exists a class of extreme gravitational microlensing events in which the effects of terrestrial parallax can be readily detected and so permit the measurement of the distance, mass, and transverse velocity of the lens. Here we report observations of the first such extreme microlensing event OGLE-2007-BLG-224, from which we infer that the lens is a brown dwarf of mass M=0.056 +- 0.004 Msun, with a distance of 525 +- 40 pc and a transverse velocity of 113 +- 21 km/s. The velocity places the lens in the thick disk, making this the lowest-mass thick-disk brown dwarf detected so far. Follow-up observations may allow one to observe the light from the brown dwarf itself, thus serving as an important constraint for evolutionary models of these objects and potentially opening a new window on sub-stellar objects. The low a priori probability of detecting a thick-disk brown dwarf in this event, when combined with additional evidence from other observations, suggests that old substellar objects may be more common than previously assumed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. The OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars. III. RR Lyrae Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The third part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars comprises 24906 RR Lyr stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This sample consists of 17693 fundamental-mode (RRab), 4958 first-overtone (RRc), 986 double-mode (RRd) and 1269 suspected second-overtone (RRe) pulsators. 66 objects are foreground Galactic RR Lyr stars. The catalog data include basic photometric and astrometric properties of these RR Lyr stars, multi-epoch VI photometry and finding charts. We detected one new RR Lyr star with additional eclipsing variations. The spatial distribution of RR Lyr stars in the LMC is distinctly non-spherical and it is elongated in the same direction as the LMC bar. The basic statistical features of RR Lyr stars in the LMC are provided. The apparent V-band magnitudes for RRab stars have the modal value at 19.36 mag, and for overtone RR Lyr stars it is about 19.32 mag. The mean periods for RRab, RRc and RRe stars are 0.576, 0.337 and 0.270 days, respectively.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge as traced by microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. Detailed abundance analysis of OGLE-2008-BLG-209S

AIMS. Our aims are twofold. First we aim to evaluate the robustness and accuracy of stellar parameters and detailed elemental abundances that can be derived from high-resolution spectroscopic observations of microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars. We then aim to use microlensed dwarf and subgiant stars to investigate the abundance structure and chemical evolution of the Milky Way Bulge. [ABRIDGED] METHODS. We present a detailed elemental abundance analysis of OGLE-2008-BLG-209S, the source star of a new microlensing event towards the Bulge, for which we obtained a high-resolution spectrum with the MIKE spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope. We have performed four different analyses of OGLE-2008-BLG-209S. [ABRIDGED] We have also re-analysed three previous microlensed dwarf stars OGLE-2006-BLG-265S, MOA-2006-BLG-099S, and OGLE-2007-BLG-349S with the same method. This homogeneous data set, although small, enables a direct comparison between the different stellar populations. RESULTS. We find that OGLE-2008-BLG-209S is a subgiant star that has a metallicity of [Fe/H] ~-0.33. It possesses [alpha/Fe] enhancements similar to what is found for Bulge giant stars at the same metallicity, and what also is found for nearby thick disc stars at the same metallicity. In contrast, the previous three microlensing dwarf stars have very high metallicities, [Fe/H]>+0.4, and more solar-like abundance ratios, i.e. [alpha/Fe]~0. The decrease in the [alpha/Fe] ratio with [Fe/H] is the typical signature of enrichment from low and intermediate mass stars. We furthermore find that the results for the four Bulge stars, in combination with results from studies of giant stars in the Bulge, seem to favour a secular formation scenario for the Bulge.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The Araucaria Project. Determination of the LMC Distance from Late-Type Eclipsing Binary Systems: I. OGLE-051019.64-685812.3

We have analyzed the double-lined eclipsing binary system OGLE-051019.64-685812.3 in the LMC which consists of two G4 giant components with very similar effective temperatures. A detailed analysis of the OGLE I-band light curve of the system, radial velocity curves for both components derived from high-resolution spectra, and near-infrared magnitudes of the binary system measured outside the eclipses has allowed us to obtain an accurate orbit solution for this eclipsing binary, and its fundamental physical parameters. Using a surface brightness-(V-K) color relation for giant stars we have calculated the distance to the system and obtain a true distance modulus of 18.50 mag, with an estimated total uncertainty of ~ 3 %. More similar eclipsing binary systems in the LMC which we have discovered and for which we are currently obtaining the relevant data will allow us to better check on the systematics of the method and eventually provide a distance determination to the LMC accurate to 1 percent, so much needed for the calibration of the distance scale.

astro-ph.CO↗