Browsing by Author "Beaulieu J-P"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    A Candidate High-velocity Exoplanet System in the Galactic Bulge
    (American Astronomical Society, Washington, 2025-03) Terry SK; Beaulieu J-P; Bennett DP; Bhattacharya A; Hulberg J; Huston MJ; Koshimoto N; Blackman JW; Bond IA; Cole AA; Lu JR; Ranc C; Rektsini NE; Vandorou A
    We present an analysis of adaptive optics images from the Keck I telescope of the microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-262. The original discovery paper by Bennett et al. reports two possibilities for the lens system: a nearby gas giant lens with an exomoon companion or a very low-mass star with a planetary companion in the Galactic bulge. The ∼10 yr baseline between the microlensing event and the Keck follow-up observations allows us to detect the faint candidate lens host (star) at K = 22.3 mag and confirm the distant lens system interpretation. The combination of the host star brightness and light curve parameters yields host star and planet masses of Mhost = 0.19 ± 0.03 M⊙ and mp = 28.92 ± 4.75 M⊕ at a distance of DL = 7.49 ± 0.91 kpc. We perform a multiepoch cross reference to Gaia Data Release 3 and measure a transverse velocity for the candidate lens system of vL = 541.31 ± 65.75 km s−1. We conclude this event consists of the highest-velocity exoplanet system detected to date, and also the lowest-mass microlensing host star with a confirmed mass measurement. The high-velocity nature of the lens system can be definitively confirmed with an additional epoch of high-resolution imaging at any time now. The methods outlined in this work demonstrate that the Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey will be able to securely measure low-mass host stars in the bulge.
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    Adaptive Optics Imaging Can Break the Central Caustic Cusp Approach Degeneracy in High-magnification Microlensing Events
    (IOP Publishing on behalf of the American Astronomical Society, 2022-11-01) Terry SK; Bennett DP; Bhattacharya A; Koshimoto N; Beaulieu J-P; Blackman JW; Bond IA; Cole AA; Lu JR; Marquette JB; Ranc C; Rektsini N; Vandorou A
    We report new results for the gravitational microlensing target OGLE-2011-BLG-0950 from adaptive optics images using the Keck Observatory. The original analysis by Choi et al. and reanalysis by Suzuki et al. report degenerate solutions between planetary and stellar binary lens systems. This particular case is the most important type of degeneracy for exoplanet demographics because the distinction between a planetary mass or stellar binary companion has direct consequences for microlensing exoplanet statistics. The 8 and 10 yr baselines allow us to directly measure a relative proper motion of 4.20 ± 0.21 mas yr−1, confirming the detection of the lens star system and ruling out the planetary companion models that predict a ∼4× smaller relative proper motion. The Keck data also rule out the wide stellar binary solution unless one of the components is a stellar remnant. The combination of the lens brightness and close stellar binary light-curve parameters yields primary and secondary star masses of M A = 1.12 − 0.09 + 0.11 and M B = 0.47 − 0.10 + 0.13 M ☉ at a distance of D L = 6.70 − 0.30 + 0.55 kpc and a projected separation of 0.39 − 0.04 + 0.05 au. Assuming that the predicted proper motions are measurably different, the high-resolution imaging method described here can be used to disentangle this degeneracy for events observed by the Roman exoplanet microlensing survey using Roman images taken near the beginning or end of the survey.
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    An Isolated Stellar-mass Black Hole Detected through Astrometric Microlensing
    (IOP Publishing on behalf of the American Astronomical Society, 2022-07-06) Sahu KC; Anderson J; Casertano S; Bond HE; Udalski A; Dominik M; Calamida A; Bellini A; Brown TM; Rejkuba M; Bajaj V; Kains N; Ferguson HC; Fryer CL; Yock P; Mróz P; Kozłowski S; Pietrukowicz P; Poleski R; Skowron J; Soszyński I; Szymański MK; Ulaczyk K; Wyrzykowski Ł; Barry RK; Bennett DP; Bond IA; Hirao Y; Silva SI; Kondo I; Koshimoto N; Ranc C; Rattenbury NJ; Sumi T; Suzuki D; Tristram PJ; Vandorou A; Beaulieu J-P; Marquette J-B; Cole A; Fouqué P; Hill K; Dieters S; Coutures C; Dominis-Prester D; Bennett C; Bachelet E; Menzies J; Albrow M; Pollard K; Gould A; Yee JC; Allen W; Almeida LA; Christie G; Drummond J; Gal-Yam A; Gorbikov E; Jablonski F; Lee C-U; Maoz D; Manulis I; McCormick J; Natusch T; Pogge RW; Shvartzvald Y; Jørgensen UG; Alsubai KA; Andersen MI; Bozza V; Novati SC; Burgdorf M; Hinse TC; Hundertmark M; Husser T-O; Kerins E; Longa-Peña P; Mancini L; Penny M; Rahvar S; Ricci D; Sajadian S; Skottfelt J; Snodgrass C; Southworth J; Tregloan-Reed J; Wambsganss J; Wertz O; Tsapras Y; Street RA; Bramich DM; Horne K; Steele IA
    We report the first unambiguous detection and mass measurement of an isolated stellar-mass black hole (BH). We used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to carry out precise astrometry of the source star of the long-duration (t E ≃ 270 days), high-magnification microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-191/OGLE-2011-BLG-0462 (hereafter designated as MOA-11-191/OGLE-11-462), in the direction of the Galactic bulge. HST imaging, conducted at eight epochs over an interval of 6 yr, reveals a clear relativistic astrometric deflection of the background star's apparent position. Ground-based photometry of MOA-11-191/OGLE-11-462 shows a parallactic signature of the effect of Earth's motion on the microlensing light curve. Combining the HST astrometry with the ground-based light curve and the derived parallax, we obtain a lens mass of 7.1 ± 1.3 M ⊙ and a distance of 1.58 ± 0.18 kpc. We show that the lens emits no detectable light, which, along with having a mass higher than is possible for a white dwarf or neutron star, confirms its BH nature. Our analysis also provides an absolute proper motion for the BH. The proper motion is offset from the mean motion of Galactic disk stars at similar distances by an amount corresponding to a transverse space velocity of �1/445 km s-1, suggesting that the BH received a "natal kick"from its supernova explosion. Previous mass determinations for stellar-mass BHs have come from radial velocity measurements of Galactic X-ray binaries and from gravitational radiation emitted by merging BHs in binary systems in external galaxies. Our mass measurement is the first for an isolated stellar-mass BH using any technique.
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    Keck and Hubble Observations Show that MOA-2008-BLG-379Lb is a Super-Jupiter Orbiting an M Dwarf
    (American Astronomical Society, New York; Currently published by IOP Publishing, 2024-07-01) Bennett DP; Bhattacharya A; Beaulieu J-P; Koshimoto N; Blackman JW; Bond IA; Ranc C; Rektsini N; Terry SK; Vandorou A; Lu JR; Marquette JB; Olmschenk G; Suzuki D
    We present high angular resolution imaging that detects the MOA-2008-BLG-379L exoplanet host star using Keck adaptive optics and the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations reveal host star and planet masses of M host = 0.434 ± 0.065 M ⊙ and m p = 2.44 ± 0.49 M Jupiter. They are located at a distance of D L = 3.44 ± 0.53 kpc, with a projected separation of 2.70 ± 0.42 au. These results contribute to our determination of exoplanet host star masses for the Suzuki et al. statistical sample, which will determine the dependence of the planet occurrence rate on the mass and distance of the host stars. We also present a detailed discussion of the image-constrained modeling version of the eesunhong light-curve modeling code that applies high angular resolution image constraints to the light-curve modeling process. This code increases modeling efficiency by a large factor by excluding models that are inconsistent with the high angular resolution images. The analysis of this and other events from the Suzuki et al. statistical sample reveals the importance of including higher-order effects, such as microlensing parallax and planetary orbital motion, even when these features are not required to fit the light-curve data. The inclusion of these effects may be needed to obtain accurate estimates of the uncertainty of other microlensing parameters that affect the inferred properties of exoplanet microlens systems. This will be important for the exoplanet microlensing survey of the Roman Space Telescope, which will use both light-curve photometry and high angular resolution imaging to characterize planetary microlens systems.
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    OGLE-2014-BLG-1760: A Jupiter-Sun Analogue Residing in the Galactic Bulge
    (IOP Publishing on behalf of The American Astronomical Society, 2025-09-01) Rektsini NE; Ranc C; Koshimoto N; Beaulieu J-P; Bennett DP; Cole AA; Terry SK; Bhattacharya A; Bachelet É; Bond IA; Udalski A; Blackman JW; Vandorou A; Plunkett TJ; Marquette J-B
    We present the analysis of OGLE-2014-BLG-1760, a planetary system in the galactic bulge. We combine Keck Adaptive Optics follow-up observations in K-band with re-reduced light-curve data to confirm the source and lens star identifications and stellar types. The re-reduced Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics data set had an important impact on the light-curve model. We find the Einstein ring crossing time of the event to be ∼2.5 days shorter than previous fits, which increases the planetary mass-ratio and decreases the source angular size by a factor of 0.25. Our OSIRIS images obtained 6 yr after the peak of the event show a source-lens separation of 54.20 ± 0.23 mas, which leads to a relative proper motion of μrel = 9.14 ± 0.05 mas yr−1 and is larger than the previous light-curve-only models. Our analysis shows that the event consists of a Jupiter-mass planet of Mp = 0.931 ± 0.117 MJup orbiting a K-dwarf star of M* = 0.803 ± 0.097 M⊙ with a K-magnitude of KL = 18.30 ± 0.05, located in the galactic bulge or bar. We also attempt to constrain the source properties using the source angular size θ* and K-magnitude. Our results favor the scenario of the source being a younger star in the galactic disk, behind the galactic bulge, but future multicolor observations are needed to constrain the source and thus the lens properties.
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    OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb: A Sub-Neptune Beyond the Snow Line of an M-dwarf Confirmed by Keck Adaptive Optics
    (IOP Publishing, 2025-05-20) Vandorou A; Dang L; Bennett DP; Koshimoto N; Terry SK; Udalski A; Beaulieu J-P; Alard C; Bhattacharya A; Blackman JW; Bond IA; Bouchoutrouch-Ku T; Cole AA; Cowan NB; Marquette J-B; Ranc C; Rektsini NE; Cetre S; Lyke J; Marin E; Wizinowich P
    We present the analysis of high-resolution follow-up observations of OGLE-2016-BLG-1195 using Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics with Keck, seven years after the event’s peak. We resolve the lens, measuring its flux and the relative source-lens proper motion, thus finding the system to be a Mp = 10.08 ± 1.18M planet orbiting an M-dwarf, ML = 0.62 ± 0.05Me, beyond the snow line, with a projected separation of r = 2.24 ± 0.21 au at DL = 7.45 ± 0.55 kpc. Our results are consistent with the discovery paper, which reports values with 1σ uncertainties based on a single mass–distance constraint from finite source effects. However, both the discovery paper and our follow-up results disagree with the analysis of a different group that also present the planetary signal detection. The latter utilizes Spitzer photometry to measure a parallax signal claiming the system is an Earth-mass planet orbiting an ultracool dwarf. Their parallax signal though is improbable since it suggests a lens star in the disk moving perpendicular to or counter to the Galactic disk rotation. Moreover, microlensing parallaxes can be impacted by systematic errors in the photometry. Therefore, we reanalyze the Spitzer photometry using a pixel level decorrelation model to detrend detector systematics. We find that we cannot confidently recover the same detrended light curve that is likely dominated by systematic errors in the photometric data. The results of this paper act as a cautionary tale that a careful understanding of detector systematics and how they influence astrophysical constraints is crucial.
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    Unveiling MOA-2007-BLG-192: An M Dwarf Hosting a Likely Super-Earth
    (American Astronomical Society, 2024-07-15) Terry SK; Beaulieu J-P; Bennett DP; Hamdorf E; Bhattacharya A; Chaudhry V; Cole AA; Koshimoto N; Anderson J; Bachelet E; Blackman JW; Bond IA; Lu JR; Marquette JB; Ranc C; Rektsini NE; Sahu K; Vandorou A
    We present an analysis of high-angular-resolution images of the microlensing target MOA-2007-BLG-192 using Keck adaptive optics and the Hubble Space Telescope. The planetary host star is robustly detected as it separates from the background source star in nearly all of the Keck and Hubble data. The amplitude and direction of the lens-source separation allows us to break a degeneracy related to the microlensing parallax and source radius crossing time. Thus, we are able to reduce the number of possible binary-lens solutions by a factor of ∼2, demonstrating the power of high-angular-resolution follow-up imaging for events with sparse light-curve coverage. Following Bennett et al., we apply constraints from the high-resolution imaging on the light-curve modeling to find host star and planet masses of M host = 0.28 ± 0.04 M ☉ and m p = 12.49 − 8.03 + 65.47 M ⊕ at a distance from Earth of D L = 2.16 ± 0.30 kpc. This work illustrates the necessity for the Nancy Grace Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey to use its own high-resolution imaging to inform light-curve modeling for microlensing planets that the mission discovers.