HST pre-imaging of a free-floating planet candidate microlensing event

TL;DR

This study analyzes a microlensing event captured by HST 25 years ago, providing evidence for a free-floating planet and demonstrating how archival high-resolution images can help distinguish such planets from wide-orbit planets.

Contribution

The paper presents the first use of archival HST data to analyze a microlensing event, setting a precedent for future long-term follow-up of similar events.

Findings

No luminous companion detected, supporting FFP hypothesis

Rejection of 25-48% of potential stellar companions

Measurement of the Einstein radius indicating a super-Earth or sub-Saturn-mass planet

Abstract

High-cadence microlensing observations uncovered a population of very short-timescale microlensing events, which are believed to be caused by the population of free-floating planets (FFP) roaming the Milky Way. Unfortunately, the light curves of such events are indistinguishable from those caused by wide-orbit planets. To properly differentiate both cases, one needs high-resolution observations that would allow resolving a putative luminous companion to the lens long before or after the event. Usually, the baseline between the event and high-resolution observations needs to be quite long ($\sim 10$ yr), hindering potential follow-up efforts. However, there is a chance to use archival data if they exist. Here, we present an analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2023-BLG-0524, the site of which was captured in 1997 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Hence, we achieve a record-breaking baseline length of 25 years. A very short duration of the event ($t_E = 0.346 \pm 0.008$ d) indicates an FFP as the explanation. We have not detected any potential companion to the lens with the HST data, which is consistent with the FFP origin of the event. Thanks to the available HST data, we are able to reject from 25% to 48% of potential stellar companions depending on the assumed population model. Based on the finite-source effects in the light curve we measure the angular Einstein radius value $\theta_E = 4.78 \pm 0.23 \mu as$, suggesting a super-Earth in the Galactic disk or a sub-Saturn-mass planet in the Galactic bulge. We show that the archival high-resolution images should be available for several microlensing events, providing us with the unprecedented possibility of seeing the lensing system as it was many years before the event.