arXiv subjects

Andrew Gould

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew Gould.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

MOA-2022-BLG-091Lb and KMT-2024-BLG-1209Lb: Microlensing planets detected through weak caustic-crossing signals

The light curves of the microlensing events MOA-2022-BLG-091 and KMT-2024-BLG-1209 exhibit anomalies with very similar features. These anomalies appear near the peaks of the light curves, where the magnifications are moderately high, and are distinguished by weak caustic-crossing features with minimal distortion while the source remains inside the caustic. To achieve a deeper understanding of these anomalies, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the lensing events. We carried out binary-lens modeling with a thorough exploration of the parameter space. This analysis revealed that the anomalies in both events are of planetary origin, although their exact interpretation is complicated by different types of degeneracy. In the case of MOA-2022-BLG-091, the main difficulty in the interpretation of the anomaly arises from a newly identified degeneracy related to the uncertain angle at which the source trajectory intersects the planet-host axis. For KMT-2024-BLG-1209, the interpretation is affected by the previously known inner-outer degeneracy, which leads to ambiguity between solutions in which the source passes through either the inner or outer caustic region relative to the planet host. Bayesian analysis indicates that the planets in both lens systems are giant planets with masses about 2 to 4 times that of Jupiter, orbiting early K-type main-sequence stars. Both systems are likely located in the Galactic disk at a distance of around 4 kiloparsecs. The degeneracy in KMT-2024-BLG-1209 is challenging to resolve because it stems from intrinsic similarities in the caustic structures of the degenerate solutions. In contrast, the degeneracy in MOA-2022-BLG-091, which occurs by chance rather than from inherent characteristics, is expected to be resolved by the future space based Roman RGES microlensing survey.

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arXiv2025

KMT-2022-BLG-1818Lb,c: A Cold Super-Jupiter with a Saturn Sibling

We present the discovery and analysis of the sixth microlensing two-planet system, KMT-2022-BLG-1818Lb,c, detected by a follow-up program targeting high-magnification events. Both planets are subject to the well-known ''Close/Wide'' degeneracy, although for the first planet, which has a super-Jovian mass ratio of $q_2 \simeq 5\times 10^{-3}$ in both solutions, the Close topology, with a normalized separation of $s\simeq 0.70$, is clearly preferred by $Δχ^2=26$. However, contrary to all previous two-planet microlensing systems, the mass ratio for the second planet, $q_3$, is substantially (factor of $\sim 10$) different for the Close and Wide topologies of the first planet. While this degeneracy is resolved in the present case due to high-cadence follow-up observations, the appearance of this new degeneracy indicates the need for caution in the analysis of future two-planet systems. A Bayesian analysis suggests that the host is likely a K-dwarf star in the Galactic disk. The first planet is probably a super-Jupiter on a Jupiter-like orbit, while the second planet is a Saturn-class planet on either a Mercury-like or Saturn-like orbit.

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arXiv2025

Microlensing events indicate that super-Earth exoplanets are common in Jupiter-like orbits

Exoplanets classified as super-Earths are commonly observed on short period orbits, close to their host stars, but their abundance on wider orbits is poorly constrained. Gravitational microlensing is sensitive to exoplanets on wide orbits. We observed the microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0007, which indicates an exoplanet with a planet-to-star mass ratio roughly double the Earth-Sun mass-ratio, on an orbit longer than Saturn's. We combine this event with a larger sample from a microlensing survey to determine the distribution of mass ratios for planets on wide orbits. We infer there are $\sim 0.35$ super-Earth planets per star on Jupiter-like orbits. The observations are most consistent with a bimodal distribution, with separate peaks for super-Earths and gas giants. We suggest that this reflects differences in their formation processes.

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arXiv2025

Systematic KMTNet Planetary Anomaly Search. XII. Complete Sample of 2017 Subprime Field Planets

We report the analysis of four unambiguous planets and one possible planet from the subprime fields ($Γ\leq 1~{\rm hr}^{-1}$) of the 2017 Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) microlensing survey, to complete the KMTNet AnomalyFinder planetary sample for the 2017 subprime fields. They are KMT-2017-BLG-0849, KMT-2017-BLG-1057, OGLE-2017-BLG-0364, and KMT-2017-BLG-2331 (unambiguous), as well as KMT-2017-BLG-0958 (possible). For the four unambiguous planets, the mean planet-host mass ratios, $q$, are $(1.0, 1.2, 4.6, 13) \times 10^{-4}$, the median planetary masses are $(6.4, 24, 76, 171)~M_{\oplus}$ and the median host masses are $(0.19, 0.57, 0.49, 0.40)~M_{\odot}$ from a Bayesian analysis. We have completed the AnomalyFinder planetary sample from the first 4-year KMTNet data (2016--2019), with 112 unambiguous planets in total, which nearly tripled the microlensing planetary sample. The ``sub-Saturn desert'' ($\log q = \left[-3.6, -3.0\right]$) found in the 2018 and 2019 KMTNet samples is confirmed by the 2016 and 2017 KMTNet samples.

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arXiv2025

Systematic Reanalysis of KMTNet Microlensing Events, Paper II: Two New Planets in Giant-Source Events

In this work, we continue to apply the updated KMTNet tender-love care (TLC) photometric pipeline to historical microlensing events. We apply the pipeline to a subsample of events from the KMTNet database, which we refer to as the giant source sample. Leveraging the improved photometric data, we conduct a systematic search for anomalies within this sample. The search successfully uncovers four new planet-like anomalies and recovers two previously known planetary signals. After detailed analysis, two of the newly discovered anomalies are confirmed as clear planets: KMT-2019-BLG-0578 and KMT-2021-BLG-0736. Their planet-to-host mass ratios are $q\sim4\times10^{-3}$ and $q\sim1\times10^{-4}$, respectively. Another event, OGLE-2018-BLG-0421 (KMT-2018-BLG-0831), remains ambiguous. Both a stellar companion and a giant planet in the lens system could potentially explain the observed anomaly. The anomaly signal of the last event, MOA-2022-BLG-038 (KMT-2022-BLG-2342), is attributed to an extra source star. Within this sample, our procedure doubles the number of confirmed planets, demonstrating a significant enhancement in the survey sensitivity.

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arXiv2025

Analyses of anomalous lensing events detected from the UKIRT microlensing survey

The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) microlensing survey was conducted over four years, from 2016 to 2019, with the goal of serving as a precursor to future near-infrared microlensing surveys (Shvartzvald et al. 2017). Focusing on stars in the Galactic center and utilizing near-infrared passbands, the survey identified approximately one thousand microlensing events, 27 of which displayed anomalies in their light curves (Wen et al. 2023). This paper presents an analysis of these anomalous events, aiming to uncover the underlying causes of the observed anomalies. The events were analyzed under various configurations, considering the potential binarity of both the lens and the source. For 11 events that were additionally observed by other optical microlensing surveys, including those conducted by the OGLE, KMTNet, and MOA collaborations, we incorporated their data into our analysis. Among the reported anomalous events, we revealed the nature of 24 events except for three events, in which one was likely to be a transient variable, and two were were difficult to accurately characterize their nature due to the limitations of the available data. We confirmed the binary lens nature of the anomalies in 22 events. Among these, we verified the earlier discovery that the companion in the binary lens system UKIRT11L is a planetary object. Accurately describing the anomaly in UKIRT21 required a model that accounted for the binarity of both the lens and the source. For two events UKIRT01 and UKIRT17, the anomalies could be interpreted using either a binary-source or a binary-lens model.

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arXiv2025

LensNet: Enhancing Real-time Microlensing Event Discovery with Recurrent Neural Networks in the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network

Traditional microlensing event vetting methods require highly trained human experts, and the process is both complex and time-consuming. This reliance on manual inspection often leads to inefficiencies and constrains the ability to scale for widespread exoplanet detection, ultimately hindering discovery rates. To address the limits of traditional microlensing event vetting, we have developed LensNet, a machine learning pipeline specifically designed to distinguish legitimate microlensing events from false positives caused by instrumental artifacts, such as pixel bleed trails and diffraction spikes. Our system operates in conjunction with a preliminary algorithm that detects increasing trends in flux. These flagged instances are then passed to LensNet for further classification, allowing for timely alerts and follow-up observations. Tailored for the multi-observatory setup of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) and trained on a rich dataset of manually classified events, LensNet is optimized for early detection and warning of microlensing occurrences, enabling astronomers to organize follow-up observations promptly. The internal model of the pipeline employs a multi-branch Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) architecture that evaluates time-series flux data with contextual information, including sky background, the full width at half maximum of the target star, flux errors, PSF quality flags, and air mass for each observation. We demonstrate a classification accuracy above 87.5%, and anticipate further improvements as we expand our training set and continue to refine the algorithm.

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arXiv2025

MOA-2022-BLG-033Lb, KMT-2023-BLG-0119Lb, and KMT-2023-BLG-1896Lb: Three low mass-ratio microlensing planets detected through dip signals

We examined the anomalies in the light curves of the lensing events MOA-2022-BLG-033, KMT-2023-BLG-0119, and KMT-2023-BLG-1896. We conducted detailed modeling of the light curves to uncover the nature of the anomalies. This modeling revealed that all signals originated from planetary companions to the primary lens. The planet-to-host mass ratios are very low: $q\sim 7.5\times 10^{-5}$ for MOA-2022-BLG-033, $q\sim 3.6\times 10^{-4}$ for KMT-2023-BLG-0119, and $q\sim 6.9\times 10^{-5}$ for KMT-2023-BLG-1896. The anomalies occurred as the source passed through the negative deviation region behind the central caustic along the planet-host axis. The solutions are subject to a common inner-outer degeneracy, resulting in variations in estimating the projected planet-host separation. For KMT-2023-BLG-1896, although the planetary scenario provides the best explanation of the anomaly, the binary companion scenario is marginally possible. We estimate the physical parameters of the planetary systems through Bayesian analyses based on the lensing observables. The analysis identifies MOA-2022-BLG-033L as a planetary system with an ice giant, approximately 12 times the mass of Earth, orbiting an early M dwarf star. The companion of KMT-2023-BLG-1896L is also an ice giant, with a mass around 16 Earth masses, orbiting a mid-K-type main-sequence star. The companion of KMT-2023-BLG-0119L, which has a mass about the mass of Saturn, orbits a mid-K-type dwarf star. The lens for MOA-2022-BLG-033 is highly likely to be located in the disk, whereas for the other events, the probabilities of the lens being in the disk or the bulge are roughly comparable.

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arXiv2024

KMT-2021-BLG-0284, KMT-2022-BLG-2480, and KMT-2024-BLG-0412: Three microlensing events involving two lens masses and two source stars

We carried out a project involving the systematic analysis of microlensing data from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network survey. The aim of this project is to identify lensing events with complex anomaly features that are difficult to explain using standard binary-lens or binary-source models. Our investigation reveals that the light curves of microlensing events KMT-2021-BLG-0284, KMT-2022-BLG-2480, and KMT-2024-BLG-0412 display highly complex patterns with three or more anomaly features. These features cannot be adequately explained by a binary-lens (2L1S) model alone. However, the 2L1S model can effectively describe certain segments of the light curve. By incorporating an additional source into the modeling, we identified a comprehensive model that accounts for all the observed anomaly features. Bayesian analysis, based on constraints provided by lensing observables, indicates that the lenses of KMT-2021-BLG-0284 and KMT-2024-BLG-0412 are binary systems composed of M dwarfs. For KMT-2022-BLG-2480, the primary lens is an early K-type main-sequence star with an M dwarf companion. The lenses of KMT-2021-BLG-0284 and KMT-2024-BLG-0412 are likely located in the bulge, whereas the lens of KMT-2022-BLG-2480 is more likely situated in the disk. In all events, the binary stars of the sources have similar magnitudes due to a detection bias favoring binary source events with a relatively bright secondary source star, which increases detection efficiency.

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arXiv2024

KMT-2024-BLG-1044L: A sub-Uranus microlensing planet around a host at the star-brown dwarf mass boundary

We analysed microlensing data to uncover the nature of the anomaly that appeared near the peak of the short-timescale microlensing event KMT-2024-BLG-1044. Despite the anomaly's brief duration of less than a day, it was densely observed through high-cadence monitoring conducted by the KMTNet survey. Detailed modelling of the light curve confirmed the planetary origin of the anomaly and revealed two possible solutions, due to an inner--outer degeneracy. The two solutions provide different measured planet parameters: $(s, q)_{\rm inner} = [1.0883 \pm 0.0027, (3.125 \pm 0.248)\times 10^{-4}]$ for the inner solutions and $(s, q)_{\rm outer} = [1.0327 \pm 0.0054, (3.350 \pm 0.316)\times 10^{-4}]$ for the outer solutions. Using Bayesian analysis with constraints provided by the short event timescale ($t_{\rm E} \sim 9.1$~day) and the small angular Einstein radius ($θ_{\rm E}\sim 0.16$~mas for the inner solution and $\sim 0.10$~mas for the outer solutio), we determined that the lens is a planetary system consisting of a host near the boundary between a star and a brown dwarf and a planet with a mass lower than that of Uranus. The discovery of the planetary system highlights the crucial role of the microlensing technique in detecting planets that orbit substellar brown dwarfs or very low-mass stars.

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arXiv2024

Microlensing brown-dwarf companions in binaries detected during the 2022 and 2023 seasons

Building on previous works to construct a homogeneous sample of brown dwarfs in binary systems, we investigate microlensing events detected by the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) survey during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Given the difficulty in distinguishing brown-dwarf events from those produced by binary lenses with nearly equal-mass components, we analyze all lensing events detected during the seasons that exhibit anomalies characteristic of binary-lens systems. Using the same criteria consistently applied in previous studies, we identify six additional brown dwarf candidates through the analysis of lensing events KMT-2022-BLG-0412, KMT-2022-BLG-2286, KMT-2023-BLG-0201, KMT-2023-BLG-0601, KMT-2023-BLG-1684, and KMT-2023-BLG-1743. An examination of the mass posteriors shows that the median mass of the lens companions ranges from 0.02 $M_\odot$ to 0.05 $M_\odot$, indicating that these companions fall within the brown-dwarf mass range. The mass of the primary lenses ranges from 0.11 $M_\odot$ to 0.68 $M_\odot$, indicating that they are low-mass stars with substantially lower masses compared to the Sun.

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arXiv2024

How Rare are TESS Free-Floating Planets?

Recently, Kunimoto et al. claimed that a short-lived signal in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Sector 61 database was possibly caused by a microlensing event with a terrestrial-mass free-floating planet (FFP) lens. In this study, we investigate TESS's ability to detect microlensing FFPs by considering the detailed source information (e.g., distance and radius), the TESS photometric accuracy, and finite-source effects. Using the FFP mass function from microlensing surveys toward the Galactic bulge, we find that only $0.0018$ microlensing events are expected to be detected in TESS Sector 61 for the entire planetary mass range. The reported signal is unlikely to be a real microlensing event, which is consistent with the evidence from the long-term OGLE data that the signal was likely due to a stellar flare. By extrapolating our result to fainter stars until $T = 16$ mag and adopting a possible optimized search algorithm, we find that only $\sim 1$ FFP events can be detected in the entire TESS mission within the first 7 years. Significant improvments of our understanding of FFPs still requires future satellite missions, such as Roman and Earth 2.0, which can detect thousands of FFPs.

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arXiv2024

OGLE-2015-BLG-0845L: A low-mass M dwarf from the microlensing parallax and xallarap effects

We present the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-0845, which was affected by both the microlensing parallax and xallarap effects. The former was detected via the simultaneous observations from the ground and Spitzer, and the latter was caused by the orbital motion of the source star in a relatively close binary. The combination of these two effects led to a mass measurement of the lens object, revealing a low-mass ($0.14 \pm 0.05 M_{\odot}$) M-dwarf at the bulge distance ($7.6 \pm 1.0$ kpc). The source binary consists of a late F-type subgiant and a K-type dwarf of $\sim1.2 M_{\odot}$ and $\sim 0.9 M_{\odot}$, respectively, and the orbital period is $70 \pm 10$ days. OGLE-2015-BLG-0845 is the first single-lens event in which the lens mass is measured via the binarity of the source. Given the abundance of binary systems as potential microlensing sources, the xallarap effect may not be a rare phenomenon. Our work thus highlights the application of the xallarap effect in the mass determination of microlenses, and the same method can be used to identify isolated dark lenses.

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arXiv2024

KMT-2023-BLG-2669: Ninth Free-floating Planet Candidate with $θ_{\rm E}$ measurements

We report a free-floating planet (FFP) candidate identified from the analysis of the microlensing event KMT-2023-BLG-2669. The lensing light curve is characterized by a short duration $(\lesssim 3\,{\rm days})$ and a small amplitude $(\lesssim 0.7\,{\rm mag})$. From the analysis, we find the Einstein timescale of $t_{\rm E} \backsimeq 0.33\,{\rm days}$ and the Einstein radius of $θ_{\rm E} \backsimeq 4.41\,μ{\rm as}$. These measurements enable us to infer the lens mass as $M = 8\,M_{\oplus} (π_{\rm rel} / 0.1\,{\rm mas})^{-1}$, where $π_{\rm rel}$ is the relative lens-source parallax. The inference implies that the lens is a sub-Neptune- to Saturn-mass object depending on its unknown distance. This is the ninth isolated planetary-mass microlens with $θ_{\rm E} < 10\,μ{\rm as}$, which (as shown by \citealt{gould22}) is a useful threshold for a FFP candidate. We conduct extensive searches for possible signals of a host star in the light curve, but find no strong evidence for the host. We investigate the possibility of using late-time high-resolution imaging to probe for possible hosts. In particular, we discuss that for the case of finite-source point-lens FFP candidates, it would be possible to search for very wide separation hosts immediately, although such searches are "high-risk, high-reward".

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arXiv2024

GEO and LEO: The Final Frontier for Plutonic FFP Parallax

I show that microlens parallaxes, $π_{\rm E}$, can be derived for free-floating planets (FFPs) with masses down to that of Pluto, by combining observations from a satellite in geosynchronous (GEO) orbit with another observatory that is on or near Earth's surface, i.e., either ground-based or in low Earth orbit (LEO). Because these low-mass FFPs typically have measurements of the angular Einstein radius, $θ_{\rm E}$, from finite-source effects, such $π_{\rm E}$ measurements directly yield the FFP mass $M=θ_{\rm E}/κπ_{\rm E}$ where $κ$ is a physical constant. Such Earth-GEO measurements almost perfectly complement Earth-L2 measurements, which extend to higher FFP mass and greater FFP distance. LEO-only observations can yield mass measurement at even smaller FFP mass and nearer FFP distances. I discuss methods for breaking the Refsdal (1966) two-fold degeneracy in $π_{{\rm E},\pm}$.

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arXiv2024

KMT-2021-BLG-2609Lb and KMT-2022-BLG-0303Lb: Microlensing planets identified through signals produced by major-image perturbations

We investigate microlensing data collected by the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) survey. Our investigation reveals that the light curves of two lensing events, KMT-2021-BLG-2609 and KMT-2022-BLG-0303, exhibit a similar anomaly, in which short-term positive deviations appear on the sides of the low-magnification lensing light curves. To unravel the nature of these anomalies, we meticulously analyze each of the lensing events. Our investigations reveal that these anomalies stem from a shared channel, wherein the source passed near the planetary caustic induced by a planet with projected separations from the host star exceeding the Einstein radius. We find that interpreting the anomaly of KMT-2021-BLG-2609 is complicated by the "inner--outer" degeneracy, whereas for KMT-2022-BLG-0303, there is no such issue despite similar lens-system configurations. In addition to this degeneracy, interpreting the anomaly in KMT-2021-BLG-2609 involves an additional degeneracy between a pair of solutions, in which the source partially envelops the caustic and the other three solutions in which the source fully envelopes the caustic. As in an earlier case of this so-called von Schlieffen--Cannae degeneracy, the former solutions have substantially higher mass ratio. Through Bayesian analyses conducted based on the measured lensing observables of the event time scale and angular Einstein radius, the host of KMT-2021-BLG-2609L is determined to be a low-mass star with a mass $\sim 0.2~M_\odot$ in terms of a median posterior value, while the planet's mass ranges from approximately 0.032 to 0.112 times that of Jupiter, depending on the solutions. For the planetary system KMT-2022-BLG-0303L, it features a planet with a mass of approximately $0.51~M_{\rm J}$ and a host star with a mass of about $0.37~M_\odot$. In both cases, the lenses are most likely situated in the bulge.

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arXiv2024

One Small Step for $Roman$; One Giant Leap for Black Holes

The $Roman$ microlensing program can detect and fully characterize black holes (BHs) that are in orbit with about 30 million solar-type and evolved stars with periods up to the mission lifetime $P 0.2$au, i.e., $P> 10$ d $(M/M_\odot)^{-1/2}$, where $M$ is the BH mass. For BH companions of about 150 million later (fainter) main-sequence stars, the threshold of detection is $a>0.2$ au $\times 10^{(H_{\rm Vega}-18.5)/5}$. The present $Roman$ scheduling creates a "blind spot" near periods of $P=3.5$ yr due to a 2.3-year gap in the data. It also compromises the characterization of BHs in eccentric orbits with periods $P>3$ yr and peribothra within a year of the mission midpoint. I show that one can greatly ameliorate these issues by making a small adjustment to the $Roman$ observing schedule. The present schedule aims to optimize proper-motion measurements, but the adjustment proposed here would degrade these by only 4%-9%. For many cases of $P>90$ d BHs, there will be discrete and/or continuous degeneracies. For G-dwarf and evolved sources, it will be straightforward to resolve these by radial-velocity (RV) follow-up observations, but such observations will be more taxing for fainter sources. Many BH-binaries in orbits of 5 yr $<P<10$ yr will be reliably identified as such from the $Roman$ data, but will lack precise orbits. Nevertheless, the full orbital solutions can be recovered by combining $Roman$ astrometry with RV followup observations. BH binaries with periods 10 yr $<P<$ 95 yr $(M/10 M_\odot)^{1/4}$ can be detected from their astrometric acceleration, but massive multi-fiber RV monitoring would be needed to distinguish them from the astrophysical background due to stellar binaries.

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arXiv2024

Roman FFP Revolution: Two, Three, Many Plutos

Roman microlensing stands at a crossroads between its originally charted path of cataloging a population of cool planets that has subsequently become well-measured down to super-Earths, and the path of free-floating planets (FFPs), which did not exist when Roman was chosen in 2010, but by now promises revolutionary insights into planet formation and evolution via their possible connection to a spectrum of objects spanning 18 decades in mass. Until now, it was not even realized that the 2 paths are in conflict: Roman strategy was optimized for bound-planet detections, and FFPs were considered only in the context of what could be learned about them given this strategy. We derive a simple equation that mathematically expresses this conflict and explains why the current approach severely depresses detection of 2 of the 5 decades of potential FFP masses, i.e., exactly the two decades, $M_{\rm Pluto}< M <2\,M_{\rm Mars}$, that would tie terrestrial planets to the proto-planetary material out of which they formed. FFPs can be either truly free floating or can be bound in "Wide", "Kuiper", and "Oort" orbits, whose separate identification will allow further insight into planet formation. In the (low-mass) limit that the source radius is much bigger than the Einstein radius, $θ_*\ggθ_{\rm E}$, the number of significantly magnified points on the FFP light curve is $N=2Γθ_*\sqrt{1-z^2}/μ$ --> 3.0, when normalized to the adopted Roman cadence $Γ=4/$hr, and to source radius $θ_*=0.3\,μ$as, lens-source proper motion $μ=6\,$mas/yr, and source impact parameter $z=0.5$, which are all typical values. By contrast $N=6$ are needed for an FFP detection. Thus, unless $Γ$ is doubled, FFP detection will be driven into the (large-$θ_*$, small-$μ$) corner of parameter space, reducing the detections by a net factor of 2 and cutting off the lowest-mass FFPs.

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