Search for exoplanets in M31 with pixel-lensing and the PA-99-N2 event revisited
Abstract
Several exoplanets have been detected towards the Galactic bulge with the microlensing technique. We show that exoplanets in M31 may also be detected with the pixel-lensing method, if telescopes making high cadence observations of an ongoing microlensing event are used. Using a Monte Carlo approach we find that the mean mass for detectable planetary systems is about 2 M J. However, even small mass exoplanets ({M_P < 20 M_{⊕}}) can cause significant deviations, which are observable with large telescopes. We reanalysed the POINT-AGAPE microlensing event PA-99-N2. First, we test the robustness of the binary lens conclusion for this light curve. Second, we show that for such long duration and bright microlensing events, the efficiency for finding planetary-like deviations is strongly enhanced with respect to that evaluated for all planetary detectable events.
- Publication:
-
General Relativity and Gravitation
- Pub Date:
- April 2011
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1001.4342
- Bibcode:
- 2011GReGr..43.1047I
- Keywords:
-
- Microlensing;
- Exoplanets;
- Spiral galaxies: M31;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 14 pages, 8 figures. Paper presented at the "II Italian-Pakistani Workshop on Relativistic Astrophysics, Pescara, July 8-10, 2009. To be published in a special issue of General Relativity and Gravitation (eds. F. De Paolis, G.F.R. Ellis, A. Qadir and R. Ruffini)