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Aikaterini Vandorou

Publications and source records attributed to Aikaterini Vandorou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Two Low-Mass-Ratio Microlensing Planets from High-Magnification Events: KMT-2021-BLG-0247 and MOA-2023-BLG-169

We present an analysis of two planetary microlensing events, KMT-2021-BLG-0247 and MOA-2023-BLG-169, both of which exhibit high magnifications and low planet--host mass ratios, but with markedly different levels of parameter constraint. For KMT-2021-BLG-0247, the finite-source effect and microlens parallax are both clearly detected, leading to unusually tight constraints on the physical properties of the lens system. The host mass and lens distance are approximately $M_{\rm L}=0.9\pm0.1\,M_\odot$ and $D_{\rm L}=6.7^{+1.0}_{-0.3}\,\mathrm{kpc}$, respectively, and the planet mass is $M_{\rm p}=41\pm5\,M_\oplus$. The projected planet--host separations are $a_\perp=3.4^{+0.7}_{-0.3}\,\mathrm{au}$ and $3.0^{+0.6}_{-0.3}\,\mathrm{au}$ for the wide and close solutions, respectively. In contrast, MOA-2023-BLG-169 involves an extremely faint source, with $I_{S,{\rm OGLE}}=26.73$, such that the light curve permits a broad family of strongly correlated solutions. We therefore construct the physical-parameter likelihood using approximate invariant combinations of the light-curve parameters and supplement it with post-event Euclid/VIS imaging from the Euclid Q2 Galactic Bulge Survey (Beaulieu et al. 2026). The Euclid data reveal a component at the event position with ${\rm VIS}_{\rm AB}=23.05\pm0.09\,{\rm mag}$. Interpreting this component as the combined light from the source and any luminous lens, the resulting posterior gives $M_{\rm L}=0.48^{+0.23}_{-0.17}\,M_\odot$, $D_{\rm L}=3.50^{+2.82}_{-1.20}\,\mathrm{kpc}$, $a_\perp=1.62^{+0.77}_{-0.43}\,\mathrm{au}$, and $M_{\rm p}=143^{+103}_{-63}\,M_\oplus$. MOA-2023-BLG-169 demonstrates that, for an extreme faint-source event, even the event timescale and angular Einstein radius can remain strongly dependent on the Galactic prior and independent flux constraints.

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Gravitational Microlensing

Gravitational microlensing is a unique planet-detection method that does not rely on detecting light from the host star or planet. Instead, planets are discovered when their gravitational field perturbs the light coming from a distant source. The mechanics of this method offer several advantages. It has the ability to detect wide-orbit planets of various masses around host stars of different types, at and beyond the system's snow line. Thus, microlensing complements the other detecting techniques that are more sensitive to close-orbit or high-mass planets. In this Chapter, we review the microlensing method and discuss how the physical properties, such as mass and distance, can be extracted from the microlensing light curve or from additional high-angular resolution observations. Microlensing is essential for the broader context of exoplanet demographics, as it can place constraints on planets, in wide orbits, beyond the {\it snow line}. Studying this parameter space can help us unravel the details of planet formation and how our own Solar System formed. Lastly, we provide an example of how to model a light curve and obtain accurate physical parameters for the host and planet.

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First Direct Identification of a Multi-Star Microlens System Hosting a Planet

Nearly 25 years have passed since gravitational microlensing delivered its first exoplanet discoveries. The relative proper motion between lens and source systems allows them to be resolved as they separate on the sky over many years. This enables scientists to study light coming directly from the lenses and place tight constraints on the physical properties of these planetary systems. In this paper we present an analysis of high angular resolution images of the microlensing target OGLE-2006-BLG-284 using Keck adaptive optics and HST data taken more than 15 years after the event. We clearly detect the lens system and measure its motion across the Keck and HST epochs. We measure a lens-source relative proper motion of $5.80 \pm 0.15$ mas yr$^{-1}$. A combination of the light curve parameters and the host star(s) brightnesses in $V,\, I$, and $K$ passbands gives primary and secondary host star masses of $M_{\rm 1} = 0.43 \pm 0.05\,M_{\odot}$ and $M_{\rm 2} = 0.12 \pm 0.02\,M_{\odot}$, and a planetary companion mass of $m_p = 165^{+40}_{-33}\,M_{\oplus}$. Although we are unable to determine if the planet orbits one or both stars in the system, our analysis motivates next-generation high-precision RV measurements that can distinguish these two possibilities. This is the first direct detection of flux coming from a two-star microlensing system which hosts a planet.

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Testing KMTNet--PRIME Optical--Near-Infrared Source-Color Constraints in KMT-2024-BLG-0211 and KMT-2024-BLG-1522

We present analyses of two 2024 microlensing events, KMT-2024-BLG-0211 and KMT-2024-BLG-1522, jointly observed by KMTNet in the optical and PRIME in the near-infrared. For KMT-2024-BLG-0211, the KMTNet--PRIME $I-H$ color provides a useful constraint on the angular source radius for a short-timescale finite-source event with a giant source. The event is consistent with a low-mass stellar lens, although the weak parallax constraint leaves the lens mass and distance uncertain. For KMT-2024-BLG-1522, we compare the results obtained from $V-I$, $I-H$, $V-H$, and $J-H$ color constraints. The microlensing parameters are nearly identical among the four analyses, yielding a robust binary-lens solution with nearly equal masses. However, the inferred source properties and lens physical parameters depend on the adopted source color because the different color estimates imply different angular source radii. Comparing the $(V-I)_{\rm KMT}$ versus $(I-H)_{\rm KMT,PRIME}$ plane shows that the inferred source colors lie off empirical color--color relations but within the scatter of observed stars. The prevalence of such deviations should be tested with a larger sample of KMTNet--PRIME events and this specific case can be further tested with future adaptive-optics follow-up, which can directly measure the lens--source relative proper motion and lens flux.

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You Shall Not Pass (Without Modeling): High-Resolution Analysis of KMT-2019-BLG-0253 using MORIA

We present the Microlensing Object high-Resolution Imaging Analysis pipeline, or \texttt{MORIA}. This is an automated procedure to reduce high-resolution \textit{HST} images of microlensing targets, build empirical point-spread function models from the data, and perform simultaneous multi-star PSF fitting to blended sources, lenses, and neighbor stars. We have developed and tested this pipeline using HST observations of the microlensing event KMT-2019-BLG-0253, which shows clear evidence of three highly-blended stars in HST. Under our assumed source and lens identification, we determine a host mass of $M_{host} = 0.65 \pm 0.04M_{\odot}$. We have reduced the number of possible solutions for this target by a factor of two, with the remaining solution subject to the well known close-wide degeneracy. We determine a planet mass of $m_{p} = 7.18 \pm 0.40 M_{\oplus}$ (close) or $m_{p} = 9.48 \pm 1.13 M_{\oplus}$ (wide), and distance to the lens system of $D_L= 2.64 \pm 0.22$ kpc. This target lies within the upcoming Roman Telescope Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS) field. Future analysis of the Roman data for this event can confirm or reject the initial source and lens identifications presented in this work. Finally, this work demonstrates the importance of using an automated high-resolution imaging tool to inform light curve modeling for microlensing planets found during the GBTDS.

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A Search For Stellar-mass Black Holes Via Astrometric Microlensing II: 2012-2015 Keck Candidates

The Milky Way is expected to host $\sim$10$^8$ stellar-mass black holes with an uncertain binary fraction. The only proven method to detect isolated stellar mass black holes is gravitational microlensing. Here we report the results of a microlensing search for black holes with photometry and astrometry. By combining 10 years of seeing-limited photometry from OGLE and MOA with diffraction-limited photometry and astrometry from adaptive optics imagers at the W.~M.~Keck Observatory, we constrain lens masses for OGLE-2012-BLG-0169, OGLE-2014-BLG-0613/MOA-2015-BLG-041, OGLE-2015-BLG-0029/MOA-2015-BLG-170, and OGLE-2015-BLG-0211. Of the four long-duration microlensing events monitored, we ruled out black hole lenses in 3 events, which likely have stellar or white dwarf lenses. OGLE-2015-BLG-0211 remains a black hole candidate with a poorly constrained lens mass with a 1$σ$ upper mass limit of 3.2$M_\odot$ and a 3$σ$ upper mass limit of 21.6$M_\odot$. This event suffered from poor observing conditions and significant astrometric reference frame uncertainties, but its analysis may benefit from additional astrometric data in the upcoming Gaia Data Release 4. Of the six long-timescale ($t_E>100$ days) microlensing events from this work and previous studies, one black hole has been confirmed with a second not ruled out. We briefly examine Galactic model simulations and find that our result agrees with current expectations. Ultimately, we need a larger sample of isolated black holes to constrain their formation processes. This will be possible in the coming years with Rubin and Roman, as well as improved astrometry from JWST and large, ground-based telescopes equipped with adaptive optics.

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KMT-2026-BLG-0083L: A Two-Jovian-Planet System Orbiting an M Dwarf Discovered by Microlensing

We present the analysis of the microlensing event KMT-2026-BLG-0083, which was independently detected by the KMTNet, OGLE, and PRIME surveys and also monitored by the DREAMS survey. The combined data provide dense coverage of two distinct short-duration anomalies in the light curve that cannot be reproduced by a standard binary-lens model. Independent analyses of the two anomalies indicate that each is produced by a planetary companion to the lens, motivating a triple-lens interpretation. The modeling yields two pairs of degenerate solutions arising from the well-known inner--outer degeneracy, with each pair exhibiting two local solutions depending on whether the source passes above or below the distant planetary companion. The preferred model indicates two giant planets with mass ratios $q_2=(5.25\pm 0.08)\times 10^{-3}$ and $q_3=(3.04\pm 0.24)\times10^{-3}$ orbiting a common host. Bayesian analysis indicates that the host is an M-dwarf star with a mass of $0.48^{+0.36}_{-0.28}~M_\odot$, hosting two giant planets with masses of $2.65^{+1.96}_{-1.55}~M_{\rm J}$ and $1.54^{+1.14}_{-0.90}~M_{\rm J}$. The projected planet--host separations are $10.6^{+1.7}_{-2.2}$~au and $1.7^{+0.3}_{-0.3}$~au, placing the inner planet near the host's snow line and the outer planet at a substantially larger separation. Thus, KMT-2026-BLG-0083L becomes the seventh confirmed multiple-planet system discovered through gravitational microlensing, providing another example of a cold giant planetary system orbiting a subsolar-mass star.

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MOA-2020-BLG-108Lb: A Giant Planet Beyond the Snow Line of a Low-Mass Lens Near the Lower Boundary of the Mass-Ratio Desert

We present an analysis of the microlensing event MOA-2020-BLG-108, which was discovered in June 2020 by the MOA collaboration toward the Galactic bulge. The observed light curve shows significant deviations from the standard single-lens single-source model. We find two degenerate binary-lens single-source solutions, corresponding to the wide and close configurations, with a companion-to-host mass ratio of $q\sim0.02$ and projected host--companion separations of $s=1.33\pm0.01$ and $s=0.76\pm0.01$, respectively. These solutions improve the fit by $Δχ^2>4430$ compared to the single-lens model. We detected the finite-source effect in the light curve and obtained the angular Einstein radius of $θ_{\rm E} = 0.7\pm0.1\:\mathrm {mas}$, which provides a mass--distance relation for the lens. We conducted a Bayesian analysis to estimate the physical parameters of the lens system. The results indicate that the lens system consists of a host star with a mass of $M_{\rm L,H} \sim 0.6\:M_\odot$ at a distance of $D_{\rm L}\sim5$ kpc and a giant planet with a mass of $M_{\rm L,C}\sim10\:M_{\rm {Jup}}$ orbiting beyond the snow line. Conventional planet formation theories suggest that giant planets are unlikely to form around low-mass stars. Furthermore, several statistical studies have suggested the existence of a companion-to-host mass-ratio desert in the range $0.02 \lesssim q \lesssim 0.05$, and the companion in the lens system discovered in this work lies near the lower boundary of this desert. Objects near the planet-brown dwarf boundary may form through multiple pathways, and this discovery provides an additional data point for understanding their formation mechanisms.

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Systematic KMTNet Planetary Anomaly Search. XIII. Complete Sample of 2021 Prime Field Planets

The Systematic KMTNet Planetary Anomaly Search series was conducted using the KMTNet data archived from $2016$ to $2019$. From this first phase of the series, we reported a total of $50$ planetary systems hidden in the data archive, which represent about $35\%$ of the total microlensing planets discovered from $2016$ to $2019$, demonstrating that this semi-machine-based search is a crucial channel for building a complete microlensing planet sample. We continue this series for $2021$ and beyond to expand the microlensing planet sample. In this work for the $2021$ KMTNet high-cadence fields (Prime fields), we find seven hidden planetary systems and three planet candidates. These new planets represent about $33\%$ of the total microlensing planets discovered within the Prime fields observed during the $2021$ bulge season. While the by-eye search is the primary channel for detecting microlensing planets (i.e., two-thirds of microlensing planet discoveries), this work clearly shows that a systematic search series is still necessary for constructing a complete microlensing planet sample. Such a sample is essential for conducting unbiased statistical studies of planet demographics in our Galaxy. Datasets for all the events used for analyses in this work are publicly available: doi:10.5281/zenodo.21472225.

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Characterizing Microlensing Planetary System OGLE-2014-BLG-0676L with High-Resolution Image Constrained Light Curve Modeling

We present an analysis that incorporates high-resolution Keck adaptive optics (AO) imaging into microlensing light-curve modeling for the planetary microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-0676. Using Keck AO observations obtained 6.3 years after the event, we directly resolved the lens and source. The Keck images reveal a tension, in that the $K$-band source flux is $0.52 \pm 0.22$ magnitudes brighter than predicted by previously reported light-curve models. By incorporating the Keck imaging constraints into the light-curve modeling, we find a host star mass of $M_{\rm host} = 0.60^{+0.17}_{-0.14}\,M_{\odot}$, a lens distance of $D_{\rm L} = 1.88^{+0.63}_{-0.35}$ kpc, a planet mass of $m_{\rm p} = 3.11^{+1.11}_{-0.63}\,M_{\rm J}$, and a projected separation of $a_{\perp} = 2.04^{+0.44}_{-0.35}$ au and $a_{\perp} = 3.72^{+0.92}_{-0.72}$ au for the close and wide solution, respectively. These results demonstrate the power of combining high-angular-resolution imaging with microlensing light-curve modeling to mitigate potential systematic effects and modeling degeneracies, enabling robust determinations of the physical properties of microlensing planetary systems. The results presented here can be confirmed by future observations from the \textit{Roman}'s Galactic Plane Survey.

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Mass Production of 2023 KMTNet Microlensing Planets. III: Three Planets from the Subprime Field

To complete the analysis of the 2023 KMTNet subprime-field microlensing planetary events identified by its AlertFinder system, we present the analysis of six events, KMT-2023-BLG-(1810, 0084, 1118, 0584, 1697, 2218). We find that the first three events are securely confirmed as planetary, with inferred mass ratios of $\log q \sim -1.9$, $-2.0$, and $-2.6$, respectively. The remaining three events exhibit the well-known degeneracy between binary-lens/single-source (2L1S) and single-lens/binary-source (1L2S) models, and two of these also admit viable stellar binary solutions. A Bayesian analysis indicates that the companions in the confirmed planetary events are likely either super-Jupiters orbiting beyond the snow line of M- or K-dwarf hosts or, for two degenerate solutions of KMT-2023-BLG-1118, Saturn-mass planets orbiting late-type M dwarfs. To date, the 2023 KMTNet sample contains 25 unambiguous planetary events, and its mass-ratio distribution is consistent with that of the KMTNet planetary sample from 2016--2019.

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An HST Wide Field Survey of the Galactic Bulge: Overview, Strategy, and First Results

We present an HST imaging survey of a 1.1 sq. degree sky area toward the Milky Way Galactic Bulge. This field significantly overlaps with the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey (GBTDS). High angular resolution imaging of this area with HST before the start of the Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey (RGES) will greatly strengthen Roman's ability to characterize detected exoplanet systems, as well as provide a rich and wide-field archive for use as a legacy dataset toward the Galactic Bulge for the broader community. We conduct coordinated-parallel imaging with both wide-field cameras on HST, Wide-field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), utilizing the F606W and F814W passbands. Approximately 70% of the survey was conducted during HST Cycle 32, with the remaining 30% conducted during Cycle 33. In this paper, the first in a series, we give a general overview of the program and the observing strategy, and present early results. This campaign secures HST's lasting impact on the high-precision study of stellar populations, dynamics, exoplanet systems, interstellar extinction, metallicities, cluster associations, and more toward the center of our Galaxy.

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Candidate Microlensing Brown Dwarfs in Binary Lens Systems from the 2023--2025 Observing Seasons

We present detailed light-curve analyses of ten binary-lens microlensing events observed during the 2023--2025 seasons and selected as candidates for hosting brown-dwarf companions. The sample includes OGLE-2023-BLG-0249, KMT-2023-BLG-1246, OGLE-2023-BLG-0079, KMT-2024-BLG-0072, KMT-2024-BLG-0897, KMT-2024-BLG-1876, KMT-2024-BLG-2379, KMT-2025-BLG-0922, KMT-2025-BLG-1056, and KMT-2025-BLG-2427. For each event, we carry out modeling of the light curve, explore relevant degeneracies, and, when finite-source effects are present, determine the angular Einstein radius. For OGLE-2023-BLG-0249, we additionally measure the microlens parallax, which allows a direct determination of the lens masses and distance. For the remaining events, we estimate the physical lens properties via Bayesian analyses incorporating Galactic priors. The resulting posteriors show that the lens companions in all systems have median masses in the brown-dwarf regime, and the lenses of two events (KMT-2025-BLG-0922 and KMT-2025-BLG-1056) are consistent with binaries in which both lens components fall within the brown-dwarf mass range. Spanning a wide range of projected separations and distances, these detections illustrate the power of high-cadence microlensing surveys to build a census of brown-dwarf companions, including faint and distant systems beyond the reach of flux-limited methods.

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Mass Production of 2023 KMTNet Microlensing Planets. II: Two Planets and A Brown Dwarf

To expand the homogeneous microlensing planetary sample of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet), we investigate six planetary candidates identified by the AnomalyFinder search in the 2023 prime-field data, namely KMT-2023-BLG-1592, OGLE-2023-BLG-0766, KMT-2023-BLG-0332, KMT-2023-BLG-0486, KMT-2023-BLG-0792, and OGLE-2023-BLG-1043. Light-curve modeling indicates that the first two events have planetary mass ratios of $\log q \sim -3.0$ and $-2.6$, while the third exhibits a brown dwarf mass ratio of $\log q \sim -1.4$. The remaining three events show the well-known degeneracy between the binary-lens single-source (2L1S) and single-lens binary-source (1L2S) interpretations. A Bayesian analysis yields companion masses of about 0.6 and 1.2 Jupiter masses for the two planetary systems, likely orbiting beyond the snow lines of M- or K-dwarf hosts. A review of the KMTNet planetary sample shows that candidates discovered by AnomalyFinder are significantly more likely to exhibit the 2L1S/1L2S degeneracy, consistent with the tendency of AnomalyFinder to detect subtler planetary signals.

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Three Saturn-mass Microlensing Planets Identified through Signals from Peripheral-caustic Perturbations

We present the discovery and analysis of three microlensing planets identified through brief positive anomalies on the wings of their light curves. The events, KMT-2021-BLG-0852, KMT-2024-BLG-2005, and KMT-2025-BLG-0481, were detected in high-cadence survey data from the KMTNet, OGLE, MOA, and PRIME collaborations. The anomaly morphologies are consistent with major-image perturbations induced by planetary-mass companions located near the peripheral caustic. A systematic exploration of model degeneracies, including binary-source scenarios, higher mass-ratio binary lenses, and the inner--outer caustic degeneracy, firmly establishes the planetary origin of each signal. Measurements of the angular Einstein radius and event timescale, combined with Bayesian priors from a Galactic model, yield the physical parameters of each system. The hosts are low-mass stars (0.12--0.75~$M_\odot$), while the companions are Saturn-mass planets (0.16--0.59 $M_{\rm J}$) projected at separations of 1.1--7.8 au, placing them beyond the snowline of their hosts. These results demonstrate the capability of microlensing to detect and characterize cold giant planets around low-mass stars at kpc distances, populating the critical transition region between ice giants and gas giants.

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KMT-2016-BLG-1337L: A Saturn-mass planet orbiting within a binary system of low-mass stars

We report the discovery and characterization of a planetary companion in the microlensing event KMT-2016-BLG-1337, which was produced by a binary system of low-mass stars. The light curve of the event exhibits a short-term anomaly superposed on the profile of a binary-lens single-source (2L1S) model. To investigate the nature of this anomaly, we performed detailed modeling under both the binary-lens binary-source (2L2S) and triple-lens single-source (3L1S) interpretations. The 3L1S model provides a substantially better fit to the data, strongly favoring the presence of a planetary companion in the lens system. Two viable $3L1S$ solutions describe the event nearly equally well. In one solution, the planet has a mass of $M_3 \sim 0.3~M_{\mathrm{J}}$ and lies at a projected separation of $a_{\perp,3} \sim 4~{\rm au}$ from the heavier member of the host binary. In the alternative solution, the planet has a mass of $M_3 \sim 7~M_{\mathrm{J}}$ and a projected separation of $a_{\perp,3} \sim 1.5~{\rm au}$. The host binary consists of early M-type dwarfs with masses of $M_1 \sim 0.54~M_\odot$ and $M_2 \sim 0.40~M_\odot$, separated in projection by $a_{\perp,2} \sim 3.5~{\rm au}$. The system is located at a distance of $D_{\rm L} \sim 7~{\rm kpc}$ toward the Galactic bulge. This event demonstrates the sensitivity of microlensing to planets in dynamically complex stellar environments, including systems beyond the reach of other detection techniques. It thereby contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of planet formation in multiple-star systems.

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Four Giant Planets from 2024 KMTNet Microlensing Campaign

In this work, we present analyses of four newly discovered planetary microlensing events from the 2024 KMTNet survey season: KMT-2024-BLG-0176, KMT-2024-BLG-0349, KMT-2024-BLG-1870, and KMT-2024-BLG-2087. In each case, the planetary nature was revealed through distinct types of anomalies in the lensing light curves: a positive bump near the peak for KMT-2024-BLG-0176, an asymmetric peak for KMT-2024-BLG-0349, a short-duration central dip for KMT-2024-BLG-1870, and a caustic-crossing feature for KMT-2024-BLG-2087. Detailed modeling of the light curves confirms that these anomalies are produced by planetary companions with planet-to-host mass ratios in the range of $(1.5\text{--}17.9)\times 10^{-3}$. Despite the diversity of signal morphologies, all planets detected in these events are giant planets with masses comparable to or exceeding that of Jupiter in the Solar System. Each planet orbits a host star less massive than the Sun, emphasizing the strength of microlensing in uncovering planetary systems around low-mass stellar hosts.

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MOA-2010-BLG-328: Keck and HST Expose the Limits of Occams Razor in Microlensing

We present high resolution follow-up data of the planetary microlensing event MOA-2010-BLG-328, using Keck and the Hubble. Keck data, taken 8 years after the event, reveal a strong lens detection enabling a direct measurement of lens flux and source-lens relative proper motion. We find the relative source-lens proper motion to be $μ_{\rm rel, Hel} = 4.07 \pm 0.34\ \rm mas\ yr^{-1}$, with the lens being $\sim10$ times fainter than the source. The lens was very faint in the Hubble passbands, and the small lens-source separation of $\sim$35 mas made its detection difficult. However, we obtained estimates of the lens magnitudes in Hubble bands by constraining its location to match the Keck K-band detection. The original analysis by \citet{Furusawa2013} reports a degenerate light curve, with several viable models depending on higher-order effects. We attempt to break the degeneracy by remodeling the event using constraints from follow-up data. Our best fit model includes parallax, orbital motion, xallarap and the magnification of a source companion. Models omitting any of these are excluded. However, even with a lens detection the solution remains unclear, as the degeneracy between a nearby late M dwarf and a distant early M dwarf in the disk persists, and cannot be broken with NIR data alone. We conclude the lens is either a $\sim0.2\ M_{\odot}$ star at $2-3$kpc, or a $\sim0.5\ M_{\odot}$ star at $4-5$kpc. This study highlights the importance of multi-band data and comprehensive modeling to resolve microlensing degeneracies.

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