arXiv subjects

M. Szymanski

Publications and source records attributed to M. Szymanski.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Eclipsing Binary Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present the catalog of 2580 eclipsing binary stars detected in 4.6 square degree area of the central parts of the Large Magellanic Cloud. The photometric data were collected during the second phase of the OGLE microlensing search from 1997 to 2000. The eclipsing objects were selected with the automatic search algorithm based on an artificial neural network. Basic statistics of eclipsing stars are presented. Also, the list of 36 candidates of detached eclipsing binaries for spectroscopic study and for precise LMC distance determination is provided. The full catalog is accessible from the OGLE Internet archive.

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arXiv2003

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits in the Carina Fields of the Galactic Disk

We present results of the second planetary and low-luminosity object transit campaign conducted by the OGLE-III survey. Three fields (35'x35' each) located in the Carina regions of the Galactic disk (l~290) were monitored continuously in February-May 2002. About 1150 epochs were collected for each field. The search for low depth transits was conducted on about 103000 stars with photometry better than 15 mmag. In total, we discovered 62 objects with shallow depth (<0.08 mag) flat-bottomed transits. For each of these objects several individual transits were detected and photometric elements were determined. Also lower limits on radii of the primary and companion were calculated. The 2002 OGLE sample of stars with transiting companions contains considerably more objects that may be Jupiter-sized (R<1.6 R_Jup) compared to our 2001 sample. There is a group of planetary candidates with the orbital periods close to or shorter than one day. If confirmed as planets, they would be the shortest period extrasolar planetary systems. In general, the transiting objects may be extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, or M-type dwarfs. One should be, however, aware that in some cases unresolved blends of regular eclipsing stars can mimic transits. Future spectral analysis and eventual determination of the amplitude of radial velocity should allow final classification. High resolution spectroscopic follow-up observations are, therefore, strongly encouraged. All photometric data are available from the OGLE Internet archive. Note added for astro-ph version: One of the best planetary candidates from the OGLE 2001 campaign, OGLE-TR-56, has recently been confirmed as a planetary system by Konacki, Torres, Jha and Sasselov [astro-ph/0301052].

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arXiv2003

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Catalog of RR Lyrae Stars from the Small Magellanic Cloud

We present the catalog of RR Lyrae stars from 2.4 square degrees of central parts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The photometric data were collected during four years of the OGLE-II microlensing survey. Photometry of each star was obtained using the Difference Image Analysis (DIA) method. The catalog contains 571 objects, including 458 RRab, 56 RRc variables, and 57 double mode RR Lyr stars (RRd). Additionally we attach a list of variables with periods between 0.18-0.26 days, which are probably delta Sct stars. Period, BVI photometry, astrometry, amplitude, and parameters of the Fourier decomposition of the I-band light curve are provided for each object. We also present the Petersen diagram for double mode pulsators. We found that the SMC RR Lyr stars are fairly uniformly distributed over the studied area, with no clear correlation to any location. The most preferred periods for RRab and RRc stars are 0.589 and 0.357 days, respectively. We noticed significant excess of stars with periods of about 0.29 days, which might be second-overtone RR Lyr stars (RRe). The mean extinction free magnitudes derived for RRab stars are 18.97, 19.45 and 19.73 mag for the I, V and B-band, respectively. All presented data, including individual BVI observations, are available from the OGLE Internet archive.

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arXiv2002

Microlensing of Relativistic Knots in the Quasar HE1104-1805

We present 3 years of photometry of the ``Double Hamburger'' lensed quasar, HE1104-1805, obtained on 102 separate nights using the OGLE 1.3-m telescope. Both the A and B images show variations, but with substantial differences in the lighcurves at all time delays. At the 310 day delay reported by Wisotzki and collaborators the difference lightcurve has an rms amplitude of 0.060 mag. The structure functions for the A and B images are quite different, with image A more than twice as variable as image B (a factor of 4 in structure function) on timescales of less than a month. Adopting microlensing as a working hypothesis for the uncorrelated variability, the short timescale argues for the relativistic motion of one or more components of the source. We argue that the small amplitude of the fluctuations is due to the finite size of the source with respect to the microlenses.

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arXiv2002

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. BVI Maps of Dense Stellar Regions. III. The Galactic Bulge

We present the VI photometric maps of the Galactic bulge. They contain VI photometry and astrometry of about 30 million stars from 49 fields of 0.225 square degree each in the Galactic center region. The data were collected during the second phase of the OGLE microlensing project. We discuss the accuracy of data and present color-magnitude diagrams of selected fields observed by OGLE in the Galactic bulge. The VI maps of the Galactic bulge are accessible electronically for the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

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arXiv2002

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Search for Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits in the Galactic Disk. Results of 2001 Campaign - Supplement

The photometric data collected during 2001 season OGLE-III planetary/low luminosity object transit campaign were reanalyzed with the new transit search technique -- the BLS method by Kovacs, Zucker and Mazeh. In addition to all presented in our original paper transits, additional 13 objects with transiting low-luminosity companions were discovered. We present here a supplement to our original catalog -- the photometric data, light curves and finding charts of all 13 new objects. The model fits to the transit light curves indicate that a few new objects may be Jupiter-sized (R<1.6 R_Jup). OGLE-TR-56 is a particularly interesting case. Its transit has only 13 mmag depth, short duration and a period of 1.21190 days. Model fit indicates that the companion may be Saturn-sized if the passage were central. Spectroscopic follow-up observations are encouraged for final classification of the transiting objects as planets, brown dwarfs or late M-type dwarf stars. We also provide the most recent ephemerides of other most promising planetary transits: OGLE-TR-10 and OGLE-TR-40 based on observations collected in June 2002. All photometric data are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

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arXiv2002

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Search for Planetary and Low-Luminosity Object Transits in the Galactic Disk. Results of 2001 Campaign

We present results of an extensive photometric search for planetary and low-luminosity object transits in the Galactic disk stars commencing the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment -- OGLE-III. Photometric observations of three fields in the direction of the Galactic center (800 epochs per field) were collected on 32 nights during time interval of 45 days. Out of the total of 5 million stars monitored, about 52~000 Galactic disk stars with photometry better than 1.5% were analyzed for flat-bottomed eclipses with the depth smaller than 0.08 mag. Altogether 46 stars with transiting low-luminosity objects were detected. For 42 of them multiple transits were observed, a total of 185, allowing orbital period determination. Transits in two objects: OGLE-TR-40 and OGLE-TR-10, with the radii ratio of about 0.14 and estimate of the radius of the companion 1.0-1.5R_Jup, resemble the well known planetary transit in HD 209458. The sample was selected by the presence of apparent transits only, with no knowledge on any other properties. Hence, it is very well suited for general study of low-luminosity objects. The transiting objects may be Jupiters, brown dwarfs, or M dwarfs. Future determination of the amplitude of radial velocity changes will establish their masses, and will confirm or refute the reality of the so called ``brown dwarf desert''. The low-mass stellar companions will provide new data needed for the poorly known mass-radius relation for the lower main sequence. All photometric data are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

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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.

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arXiv2002

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Catalog of high proper motion stars towards the Magellanic Clouds

We present a Catalog of high proper motion (HPM) stars detected in the foreground of central parts of the Magellanic Clouds. The Catalog contains 2161 objects in the 4.5 square degree area towards the LMC, and 892 HPM stars in the 2.4 square degree area towards the SMC. The Catalog is based on observations collected during four years of the OGLE-II microlensing survey. The Difference Image Analysis (DIA) of the images provided candidate HPM stars with proper motion as small as 4 mas/yr. These appeared as pseudo-variables, and were all measured astrometrically on all CCD images, providing typically about 400 data points per star. The reference frame was defined by the majority of background stars, most of them members of the Magellanic Clouds. The reflex motion due to solar velocity with respect to the local standards of rest is clearly seen. The largest proper motion in our sample is 363 mas/yr. Parallaxes were measured with errors smaller than 20% for several stars.

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arXiv2002

Difference Image Analysis of the OGLE-II Bulge Data. III. Catalog of 200,000 Candidate Variable Stars

We present the first edition of a catalog of variable stars from OGLE-II Galactic Bulge data covering 3 years: 1997-1999. Typically 200-300 I band data points are available in 49 fields between -11 and 11 degrees in galactic longitude, totaling roughly 11 square degrees in sky coverage. Photometry was obtained using the Difference Image Analysis (DIA) software and tied to the OGLE data base with the DoPhot package. The present version of the catalog comprises 221,801 light curves. In this preliminary work the level of contamination by spurious detections is still about 10%. Parts of the catalog have only crude calibration, insufficient for distance determinations. The next, fully calibrated, edition will include the data collected in year 2000. The data is accessible via FTP. Due to the data volume, we also distribute DAT tapes upon request.

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arXiv2002

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Difference Image Analysis of LMC and SMC data. The Catalog

We present the first edition of a catalog of variable stars found in the Magellanic Clouds using OGLE-II data obtained during four years: 1997-2000. The catalog covers about 7 square degrees of the sky - 21 fields in the Large Magellanic Cloud and 11 fields in the Small Magellanic Cloud. All variables were found with the Difference Image Analysis (DIA) software. The catalog is divided into two sections. The DC section contains FITS reference images (obtained by co-adding 20 best frames for each field) and profile photometry (DoPHOT) of all variable stars on those images. The AC section contains flux variations and magnitudes of detected variable stars obtained with DIA as well as with DoPHOT. The results are available in electronic form via FTP and through WWW interface from the OGLE internet archive. Typically, there are about 400 I-band data points and about 30 V and B-band data points for over 68,000 variables. A detailed analysis and classification of variable stars will be presented elsewhere. The FTP catalog contains approximately 2Gbytes of data.

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arXiv2001

Contact Binaries in OGLE-I Database

We present a new catalog of 1575 contact binary stars fainter than I=18 mag identified in OGLE-I database in the selected directions toward the Galactic bulge and the Galactic bar. For completeness we recall here also the objects from the formerly published OGLE catalog of contact binaries brighter than I=18 mag. To ease the comparison and/or distinction between contact binaries with sinusoidal light curves and pulsating stars we also give a catalog of 506 objects with nearly sinusoidal light curves which were classified or re-classified as pulsating variable stars. Present catalog contains the most numerous, observationally homogeneous sample of contact binaries. Given are the statistical properties of the sample relating to the distributions of brightness, periods and amplitudes of the contact binaries.

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arXiv2001

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Cepheids in the Galaxy IC1613: No Dependence of the Period--Luminosity Relation on Metallicity

We present results of the search for Cepheids in the galaxy IC1613 carried out as a sub-project of the OGLE-II microlensing survey. 138 Cepheids were found in the 14.2x14.2 arcmin region in the center of the galaxy. We present light curves, VI photometry and basic data for all these objects, as well as color-magnitude diagram of the observed field. The Period--Luminosity (PL) diagrams for IC1613 fundamental mode Cepheids for VI and interstellar extinction insensitive index W_I are constructed. Comparison of PL relations in metal poor galaxy IC1613 ([Fe/H]~-1.0 dex) with relations in metal richer Magellanic Clouds allows us to study dependence of Cepheid PL relations on metallicity in the wide range of metallicities covered by these three galaxies. The slopes of PL relations in IC1613 are identical as in the Magellanic Clouds. The comparison of brightness of Cepheids with the magnitudes of the tip of the red giant branch stars and RR Lyr stars in all three objects provides information on the stability of zero points of PL relations in the I and V-band, respectively. We find that the zero points of PL relations are constant to better than $\pm0.03$ mag over the entire range of covered metallicities. Thus, the most important conclusion of the paper is that the Cepheid PL relations do not depend on metallicity. Additionally we determine the mean distance to IC1613, based on the common distance scale resulting from four major stellar distance indicators: Cepheids, RR Lyr, TRGB and red clump stars. The distance modulus to IC1613 is equal to (m-M)_IC1613=24.20 mag with the standard deviation of +/-0.02 mag from six measurements and systematic uncertainty of calibrations of +/-0.07 mag.

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arXiv2001

Difference Image Analysis of the OGLE-II bulge data. II. Microlensing events

We present a sample of microlensing events discovered in the Difference Image Analysis (DIA) of the OGLE-II images collected during 3 observing seasons, 1997--1999. 4424 light curves pass our criteria on the presence of a brightening episode on top of a constant baseline. Among those, 512 candidate microlensing events were selected visually. We designed an automated procedure, which unambiguously selects up to 237 best events. Including 8 candidate events recovered by other means, a total of 520 light curves are presented in this work. In addition to microlensing events, the larger sample contains certain types of transients, but is also strongly contaminated by artifacts. All 4424 light curves in the weakly filtered group are available electronically, with the intent of showing the gray zone between microlensing events and variable stars, as well as artifacts, to some extent inevitable in massive data reductions. We welcome suggestions for improving the selection process before the full analysis of complete 4 seasons of the OGLE-II bulge data. Selection criteria for binary events can also be investigated with our extended sample.

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arXiv2001

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds. VI. Double-Mode Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present a sample of 76 double-mode Cepheids detected in the 4.5 square degree area in the central part of the LMC. 19 stars from the sample pulsate in the fundamental mode and the first overtone while 57 objects are the first and second overtone pulsators. We analyze the period ratio of double-mode Cepheids and Fourier parameters of decomposition of the light curves of these objects. We also present location of different type Cepheids from the LMC in the color-magnitude diagram and show the distribution of their ${V-I}$ color indices.

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arXiv2001

Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. OGLE 2000-BUL-43: A Spectacular Ongoing Parallax Microlensing Event. Difference Image Analysis

We present the photometry and theoretical models for a Galactic bulge microlensing event OGLE-2000-BUL-43. The event is very bright with I=13.54 mag, and has a very long time scale, t_E=156 days. The long time scale and its light curve deviation from the standard shape strongly suggest that it may be affected by the parallax effect. We show that OGLE-2000-BUL-43 is the first discovered microlensing event, in which the parallax distortion is observed over a period of 2 years. Difference Image Analysis (DIA) using the PSF matching algorithm of Alard & Lupton enabled photometry accurate to 0.5%. All photometry obtained with DIA is available electronically. Our analysis indicates that the viewing condition from a location near Jupiter will be optimal and can lead to magnifications ~ 50 around January 31, 2001. These features offer a great promise for resolving the source (a K giant) and breaking the degeneracy between the lens parameters including the mass of the lens, if the event is observed with the imaging camera on the Cassini space probe.

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arXiv2000

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. BVI Maps of Dense Stellar Regions. II. The Large Magellanic Cloud

We present the BVI photometric maps of the Large Magellanic Cloud. They contain BVI photometry and astrometry of more than 7 million stars from the central parts of the LMC. The data were collected during the second phase of the OGLE microlensing project. We discuss the accuracy of the data and present color-magnitude diagrams of all 26 fields observed by OGLE in the LMC. The BVI maps of the LMC are accessible electronically for the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive.

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arXiv2000

The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. A Hunt for Caustic Crossings in QSO 2237+0305

In 1998 The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) successfully implemented automated data reductions for QSO 2237+0305. Using a new image subtraction method we achieved a differential photometry scatter of 1-5 % for images A-D respectively. Combined with a time sampling of 1-2 times a week this is sufficient for early detection of caustic crossings. Nearly real time photometry of QSO 2237+0305 is available from the OGLE web site http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~ogle/ogle2/huchra.html . During the 1999 observing season, the apparent V magnitude of the A, B, C and D images changed by 0.50, 0.15, 0.65 and 0.35 mag, respectively. Most likely however, none of the microlensing events involved a caustic crossing. The most rapid variation was 0.25 mag in 30 days, observed for image C. The alert system will continue to be active in the next observing season from late April until September 2000, when OGLE suspends operation for an upgrade. Observations will resume for season of 2001.

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