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Main Authors: Kaczmarek, Zofia, McGill, Peter, Evans, N. Wyn, Smith, Leigh C., Golovich, Nathan, Kerins, Eamonn, Specht, David, Dawson, William A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.11667
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author Kaczmarek, Zofia
McGill, Peter
Evans, N. Wyn
Smith, Leigh C.
Golovich, Nathan
Kerins, Eamonn
Specht, David
Dawson, William A.
author_facet Kaczmarek, Zofia
McGill, Peter
Evans, N. Wyn
Smith, Leigh C.
Golovich, Nathan
Kerins, Eamonn
Specht, David
Dawson, William A.
contents We analyze 1602 microlensing events found in the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) near-infrared (NIR) survey data. We obtain spatially-resolved, efficiency-corrected timescale distributions across the Galactic bulge ($|\ell|<10^\circ,$ $|b|<5^\circ$), using a Bayesian hierarchical model. Spatially-resolved peaks and means of the timescale distributions, along with their marginal distributions in strips of longitude and latitude, are in agreement at a 1$σ$ level with predictions based on the Besançon model of the Galaxy. We find that the event timescales in the central bulge fields ($|\ell| < 5^\circ$) are on average shorter than the non-central ($|\ell| > 5^\circ$) fields, with the average peak of the lognormal timescale distribution at 23.6 $\pm$ 1.9 days for the central fields and 29.0 $\pm$ 3.0 days for the non-central fields. Our ability to probe the structure of the Bulge with this sample of NIR microlensing events is limited by the VVV survey's sparse cadence and relatively small number of detected microlensing events compared to dedicated optical surveys. Looking forward to future surveys, we investigate the capability of the Roman telescope to detect spatially-resolved asymmetries in the timescale distributions. We propose two pairs of Roman fields, centred on ($\ell = \pm 9,5^\circ$, $b=-0.125^\circ$) and ($\ell = -5^\circ$, $b=\pm 1.375^\circ$) as good targets to measure the asymmetry in longitude and latitude, respectively.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_11667
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spatially resolved microlensing timescale distributions across the Galactic bulge with the VVV survey
Kaczmarek, Zofia
McGill, Peter
Evans, N. Wyn
Smith, Leigh C.
Golovich, Nathan
Kerins, Eamonn
Specht, David
Dawson, William A.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We analyze 1602 microlensing events found in the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) near-infrared (NIR) survey data. We obtain spatially-resolved, efficiency-corrected timescale distributions across the Galactic bulge ($|\ell|<10^\circ,$ $|b|<5^\circ$), using a Bayesian hierarchical model. Spatially-resolved peaks and means of the timescale distributions, along with their marginal distributions in strips of longitude and latitude, are in agreement at a 1$σ$ level with predictions based on the Besançon model of the Galaxy. We find that the event timescales in the central bulge fields ($|\ell| < 5^\circ$) are on average shorter than the non-central ($|\ell| > 5^\circ$) fields, with the average peak of the lognormal timescale distribution at 23.6 $\pm$ 1.9 days for the central fields and 29.0 $\pm$ 3.0 days for the non-central fields. Our ability to probe the structure of the Bulge with this sample of NIR microlensing events is limited by the VVV survey's sparse cadence and relatively small number of detected microlensing events compared to dedicated optical surveys. Looking forward to future surveys, we investigate the capability of the Roman telescope to detect spatially-resolved asymmetries in the timescale distributions. We propose two pairs of Roman fields, centred on ($\ell = \pm 9,5^\circ$, $b=-0.125^\circ$) and ($\ell = -5^\circ$, $b=\pm 1.375^\circ$) as good targets to measure the asymmetry in longitude and latitude, respectively.
title Spatially resolved microlensing timescale distributions across the Galactic bulge with the VVV survey
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.11667