OGLE-2015-BLG-0845L: A low-mass M dwarf from the microlensing parallax and xallarap effects

TL;DR

This study analyzes a microlensing event affected by parallax and xallarap effects, leading to the first mass measurement of a low-mass M dwarf lens via source binarity, demonstrating the potential of xallarap in dark lens detection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method using xallarap effects for measuring lens masses in microlensing events involving binary sources.

Findings

Measured a 0.14 solar mass M dwarf lens at 7.6 kpc.

First single-lens event with lens mass determined through source binarity.

Highlights xallarap effect as a tool for dark lens identification.

Abstract

We present the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-0845, which was affected by both the microlensing parallax and xallarap effects. The former was detected via the simultaneous observations from the ground and Spitzer, and the latter was caused by the orbital motion of the source star in a relatively close binary. The combination of these two effects led to a mass measurement of the lens object, revealing a low-mass ($0.14 \pm 0.05 M_{\odot}$) M-dwarf at the bulge distance ($7.6 \pm 1.0$ kpc). The source binary consists of a late F-type subgiant and a K-type dwarf of $\sim1.2 M_{\odot}$ and $\sim 0.9 M_{\odot}$, respectively, and the orbital period is $70 \pm 10$ days. OGLE-2015-BLG-0845 is the first single-lens event in which the lens mass is measured via the binarity of the source. Given the abundance of binary systems as potential microlensing sources, the xallarap effect may not be a rare phenomenon. Our work thus highlights the application of the xallarap effect in the mass determination of microlenses, and the same method can be used to identify isolated dark lenses.