Microlensing of fast and slow compact objects

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-standard compact objects with unusual velocities affect gravitational microlensing constraints, revealing new parameter spaces and the importance of observation cadence for detecting fast lenses.

Contribution

It derives model-independent upper limits and mass-dependent constraints on diverse compact object populations with a wide range of velocities, expanding beyond standard dark matter assumptions.

Findings

Constraints on lens densities and masses differ significantly from dark matter limits.

Fast lenses can be probed at smaller masses with increased observation cadence.

Velocity and spatial distribution assumptions impact microlensing constraints.

Abstract

Gravitational microlensing constraints on non-standard compact objects are conventionally derived assuming lenses trace the dark matter halo with velocities following a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution centered around $10^{-3}c$. However, a variety of theoretical scenarios predict populations of compact objects whose velocities deviate dramatically from those of virialized halo dark matter -- ultrarelativistic primordial black holes from cosmic string collapse, mirror neutron stars, gravitationally kicked black hole merger remnants, dark matter nuggets, free floaters ejected from gravitationally bound systems, disk-formed compact objects, and so on. For a given Einstein crossing time, the speed-mass degeneracy inherent in it means that fast (slow) lenses produce events at larger (smaller) masses than spanned by standard windows, opening qualitatively new regions of parameter space. After deriving model-independent upper limits on the microlensing event rate, we obtain mass-dependent constraints on the density of lens populations with speeds spanning $10^{-4}c-10^{-1}c$ from surveys of M31 by Subaru-HSC and the LMC by OGLE with different observing cadences. We do this for two benchmark velocity distributions -- Maxwell-Boltzmann and Dirac delta -- and two spatial distributions -- uniform and NFW, and exclude lens densities and masses that differ from dark matter constraints by orders of magnitude. We examine the effect of the transverse motion of the source and observer relative to the lensing tube, which becomes significant for our slow lenses. We also show that, unlike in dark matter searches, for our fast lenses an increase in the cadence of observations would probe smaller masses without suppression of event rates from the finite source and wave optics effects.