Measuring Satellite Parallaxes in Joint Roman+PRIME Microlensing Events to Estimate Lens Masses and Distances
| Program ID | 19004 |
|---|---|
| Science Category | Exoplanets & Exoplanet Formation |
| Program Type | Analysis |
| Category | Medium |
| Principal Investigator | Sean Terry |
| PI Institution | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Co-Investigators |
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| Abstract | We propose a coordinated analysis of Roman and PRIME gravitational microlensing events that are observed concurrently during the first two years of the GBTDS. Jointly modeling both the ground-based PRIME light curves and the space-based Roman light curves will allow for detection of the so-called satellite parallax effect: an observed difference in the time and magnification of microlensing light curves due to the large baseline distance between the observatories at Earth and L2. While we include events across the full GBTDS footprint, we will focus our efforts on analyzing the more elusive events toward the lowest-latitudes, including the Galactic Center (GC) field. The events in these sight lines will be more difficult to analyze with Roman data alone, and importantly the near-IR capability of PRIME is the only ground-based microlensing survey that can observe these highly-extincted regions concurrently with Roman. This project will increase the expected microlensing yield from Roman for effectively all lens system types, including bound-exoplanets, free-floating planets, compact objects, and more. Ultimately, the well-characterized lens systems we deliver as part of this program can be included in larger GBTDS-wide statistical analyses and planet occurrence rate estimates. |