Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Yee, J. C.

Publications and source records attributed to Yee, J. C..

OGLE-2018-BLG-0677Lb: A Super-Earth Near the Galactic Bulge

We report the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2018-BLG-0677. A small feature in the light curve of the event leads to the discovery that the lens is a star–planet system. Although there are two degenerate solutions that could not be distinguished for this event, both lead to a similar planet-host mass ratio. We perform a Bayesian analysis based on a Galactic model to obtain the properties of the system and find that the planet corresponds to a super-Earth/sub-Neptune with a mass of M{sub planet}=3.96{sub −2.66}{sup +5.88}M{sub ⊕}. The host star has a mass of M{sub host}=0.12{sub −0.08}{sup +0.14} M{sub ⊙}. The projected separation for the inner and outer solutions are 0.63{sub −0.17}{sup +0.20} au and 0.72{sub −0.19}{sup +0.23} au respectively. At Δχ{sup 2}=χ{sup 2}(1L1S)−χ{sup 2}(2L1S)=46, this is by far the lowest Δχ {sup 2} for any securely detected microlensing planet to date, a feature that is closely connected to the fact that it is detected primarily via a “dip” rather than a “bump.”.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An Isolated Microlens Observed from K2, Spitzer, and Earth

We present the result of microlensing event MOA-2016-BLG-290, which received observations from the two-wheel Kepler (K2), Spitzer, as well as ground-based observatories. A joint analysis of data from K2 and the ground leads to two degenerate solutions of the lens mass and distance. This degeneracy is effectively broken once the (partial) Spitzer light curve is included. Altogether, the lens is found to be an extremely low-mass star or brown dwarf (77(sup +34)(sub -23) M(sub J)) located in the Galactic bulge (6.8 ± 0.4 kpc). MOA-2016-BLG-290 is the first microlensing event for which we have signals from three well-separated (~1 au) locations. It demonstrates the power of two-satellite microlensing experiment in reducing the ambiguity of lens properties, as pointed out independently by S. Refsdal and A. Gould several decades ago.

microlensing event MOA-2016-BLG-290↗

OGLE-2016-BLG-1469L: Microlensing Binary Composed of Brown Dwarfs

We report the discovery of a binary composed of two brown dwarfs, based on the analysis of the micro lensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-1469. Thanks to the detection of both finite-source and micro lens-parallax effects, we are able to measure both the masses M(sub 1) ~ 0.05 Solar Mass and M(sub 2) ~ 0.01 Solar Mass, and the distance D(sub L) ~ 4.5 kpc, as well as the projected separation a(sub perpendicular) ~ 0.33 au. This is the third brown-dwarf binary detected using the micro lensing method, demonstrating the usefulness of micro lensing in detecting field brown-dwarf binaries with separations of less than 1 au.

OGLE-2016-BLG-1469↗

Binary Source Microlensing Event OGLE-2016-BLG-0733: Interpretation of a Long-Term Asymmetric Perturbation

In the process of analyzing an observed light curve, one often confronts various scenarios that can mimic the planetary signals causing difficulties in the accurate interpretation of the lens system. In this paper, we present the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0733. The light curve of the event shows a long-term asymmetric perturbation that would appear to be due to a planet. From the detailed modeling of the lensing light curve, however, we find that the perturbation originates from the binarity of the source rather than the lens. This result demonstrates that binary sources with roughly equal-luminosity components can mimic long-term perturbations induced by planets with projected separations near the Einstein ring. The result also represents the importance of the consideration of various interpretations in planet-like perturbations and of high-cadence observations for ensuring the unambiguous detection of the planet.

microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-0733↗

A Super-Jupiter Orbiting A Late-Type Star: A Refined Analysis of Microlensing Event OGLE-2012-BLG-0406

We present a detailed analysis of survey and follow-up observations of microlensing event OGLE-2012-BLG-0406 based on data obtained from 10 different observatories. Intensive coverage of the light curve, especially the perturbation part, allowed us to accurately measure the parallax effect and lens orbital motion. Combining our measurement of the lens parallax with the angular Einstein radius determined from finite-source effects, we estimate the physical parameters of the lens system. We find that the event was caused by a 2.73 plus or minus 0.43 M (sub J) planet orbiting a 0.44 plus or minus 0.07 solar mass early M-type star. The distance to the lens is 4.97 plus or minus 0.29 kpc and the projected separation between the host star and its planet at the time of the event is 3.45 plus or minus 0.26 AU. We find that the additional coverage provided by follow-up observations, especially during the planetary perturbation, leads to a more accurate determination of the physical parameters of the lens.

microlensing↗