Microlens masses from astrometry and parallax in space-based surveys: From planets to black holes
- Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, 140 W. 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
We show that space-based microlensing experiments can recover lens masses and distances for a large fraction of all events (those with individual photometric errors ≲ 0.01 mag) using a combination of one-dimensional microlens parallaxes and astrometric microlensing. This will provide a powerful probe of the mass distributions of planets, black holes, and neutron stars, the distribution of planets as a function of Galactic environment, and the velocity distributions of black holes and neutron stars. While systematics are in principle a significant concern, we show that it is possible to vet against all systematics (known and unknown) using single-epoch precursor observations with the Hubble Space Telescope roughly 10 years before the space mission.
- OSTI ID:
- 22351471
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 784, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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