arXiv subjects

M. C. Smith

Publications and source records attributed to M. C. Smith.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

Acceleration and Parallax Effects in Gravitational Microlensing

To generate the standard microlensing light curve one assumes that the relative motion of the source, the lens, and the observer is linear. In reality, the relative motion is likely to be more complicated due to accelerations of the observer, the lens and the source. The simplest approximation beyond the linear-motion assumption is to add a constant acceleration. Microlensing light curves due to accelerations can be symmetric or asymmetric depending on the angle between the acceleration and the velocity. We show that it is possible that some of the previously reported shorter marginal parallax events can be reproduced with constant-acceleration models, while the longer, multi-year parallax events are ill-fitted by such models. We find that there is a generic degeneracy inherent in constant-acceleration microlensing models. We also find that there is an equivalent degeneracy in parallax models, which manifests itself in short-duration events. The importance of this new parallax degeneracy is illustrated with an example, using one of these marginal parallax events. Our new analysis suggests that another of these previously suspected parallax candidate events may be exhibiting some weak binary-source signatures. If this turns out to be true, spectroscopic observations of the source could determine some parameters in the model and may also constrain or even determine the lens mass. We also point out that symmetric light curves with constant accelerations can mimic blended light curves, producing misleading Einstein-radius crossing time-scales when fitted by the standard `blended' microlensing model; this may have some effect on the estimation of optical depth.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

A Brown Dwarf Microlens Candidate in the OGLE-II Database

We describe a unique mass determination for a microlensing event from the second phase of the Optical Gravitational Microlensing Experiment (OGLE-II). The event, sc26_2218, which is very bright (baseline magnitude I=15.10), appears to exhibit both parallax and finite source effects. The parallax effect allows us to determine the projected Einstein radius on the observer plane (approx. 3.8 AU), while the finite source effect allows us to determine the ratio of the angular source size and the angular Einstein radius. As the angular size of the star can be estimated using its color and magnitude, we can hence determine the angular Einstein radius (approx. 0.1 mas). By combining both the projected and angular Einstein radius we can determine the lens mass M = 0.050^{+0.016}_{-0.011} solar masses, independent of the source distance. The lens is therefore a brown dwarf candidate. However, the `parallax' signature is weak and so we cannot completely discount the possibility that these signatures originate from binary rotation of the source (which would prevent any estimate of the lens mass), rather than parallax. However, this can be tested by future spectroscopic observations. This event highlights the scientific returns for intense monitoring of bright microlensing events, since the parallax and finite source effects can be more easily identified due to their high signal-to-noise ratios.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. OGLE-1999-BUL-19: The First Multi-Peak Parallax Event

We describe a highly unusual microlensing event, OGLE-1999-BUL-19, which exhibits multiple peaks in its light curve. The Einstein radius crossing time for this event is approximately one year, which is unusually long. We show that the motion of the Earth induces these multiple peaks in the light curve, since the relative transverse velocity of the lens projected into the observer plane is very small (v = 12.5 km/s). This is the lowest velocity so far published and we believe that this is the first multiple-peak parallax event ever observed. We also believe that this event may be exhibiting slight binary-source signatures in addition to these parallax-induced multiple peaks. With spectroscopic observations it is possible to test this `parallax plus binary-source' hypothesis and (if this hypothesis turns out to be correct) to simultaneously fit both models and obtain a measurement of the lens mass. Furthermore, spectroscopic observations could also supply information regarding the lens properties, possibly providing another avenue for determining the lens mass. We found that most of the I-band blending is probably caused by light from the lens or a binary companion to the source. However, in the V-band, there appears to be a second blended source 0.35" away from the lensed source. HST observations will be very useful for understanding the nature of the blends. We also suggest that a radial velocity survey of all parallax events will be very useful for further constraining the lensing kinematics and understanding the origins of these events and the excess of long events toward the bulge.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Parallax Microlensing Events in the OGLE II Database Toward the Galactic Bulge

We present a systematic search for parallax microlensing events among a total of 512 microlensing candidates in the OGLE II database for the 1997-1999 seasons. We fit each microlensing candidate with both the standard microlensing model and also a parallax model that accounts for the Earth's motion around the Sun. We then search for the parallax signature by comparing the chi^2 of the standard and parallax models. For the events which show a significant improvement, we further use the `duration' of the event and the signal-to-noise ratio as criteria to separate true parallax events from other noisy microlensing events. We have discovered one convincing new candidate, sc33_4505, and seven other marginal cases. The convincing candidate (sc33_4505) is caused by a slow-moving, and likely low-mass, object, similar to other known parallax events. We found that irregular sampling and gaps between observing seasons hamper the recovery of parallax events. We have also searched for long-duration events that do not show parallax signatures. The lack of parallax effects in a microlensing event puts a lower-limit on the Einstein radius projected onto the observer plane, which in turn imposes a lower limit on the lens mass divided by the relative lens-source parallax. Most of the constraints are however quite weak.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

Quarkonia and the Pole Mass

The pole mass of a heavy quark is ambiguous by an amount of order $Λ_{QCD}$. We show that the heavy-quark potential, $V(r)$, is similarly ambiguous, but that the total static energy, $2M_{pole}+V(r)$, is unambiguous when expressed in terms of a short-distance mass. This implies that the extraction of a short-distance mass from the quarkonium spectrum is free of an ambiguity of order $Λ_{QCD}$, in contrast with the pole mass.

hep-ph↗