Most known extrasolar planets (exoplanets) have been discovered using the radial velocity or transit methods. Both are biased towards planets that are relatively close to their parent stars, and ...studies find that around 17-30% (refs 4, 5) of solar-like stars host a planet. Gravitational microlensing, on the other hand, probes planets that are further away from their stars. Recently, a population of planets that are unbound or very far from their stars was discovered by microlensing. These planets are at least as numerous as the stars in the Milky Way. Here we report a statistical analysis of microlensing data (gathered in 2002-07) that reveals the fraction of bound planets 0.5-10 AU (Sun-Earth distance) from their stars. We find that 17(+6)(-9)% of stars host Jupiter-mass planets (0.3-10 M(J), where M(J) = 318 M(⊕) and M(⊕) is Earth's mass). Cool Neptunes (10-30 M(⊕)) and super-Earths (5-10 M(⊕)) are even more common: their respective abundances per star are 52(+22)(-29)% and 62(+35)(-37)%. We conclude that stars are orbited by planets as a rule, rather than the exception.
To obtain accurate mass measurements for cold planets discovered by microlensing, it is usually necessary to combine light curve modeling with at least two lens mass-distance relations. The physical ...parameters of the planetary system OGLE-2014-BLG-0124L have been constrained thanks to accurate parallax effect between ground-based and simultaneous space-based Spitzer observations. Here, we resolved the source+lens star from sub-arcsecond blends in H-band using adaptive optics (AO) observations with NIRC2 mounted on Keck II telescope. We identify additional flux, coincident with the source to within 160 mas. We estimate the potential contributions to this blended light (chance-aligned star, additional companion to the lens or to the source) and find that 85% of the NIR flux is due to the lens star at HL = 16.63 0.06 and KL = 16.44 0.06. We combined the parallax constraint and the AO constraint to derive the physical parameters of the system. The lensing system is composed of a mid-late type G main sequence star of ML = 0.9 0.05 M located at DL = 3.5 0.2 kpc in the Galactic disk. Taking the mass ratio and projected separation from the original study leads to a planet of Mp = 0.65 0.044 MJupiter at 3.48 0.22 au. Excellent parallax measurements from simultaneous ground-space observations have been obtained on the microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-0124, but it is only when they are combined with ∼30 minutes of Keck II AO observations that the physical parameters of the host star are well measured.
The numerical kernel approach to difference imaging has been implemented and applied to gravitational microlensing events observed by the PLANET collaboration. The effect of an error in the ...source-star coordinates is explored and a new algorithm is presented for determining the precise coordinates of the microlens in blended events, essential for accurate photometry of difference images. It is shown how the photometric reference flux need not be measured directly from the reference image but can be obtained from measurements of the difference images combined with the knowledge of the statistical flux uncertainties. The improved performance of the new algorithm, relative to isis2, is demonstrated.
Context
. We are operating an elastic light detecting and ranging system (LIDAR) for the monitoring of atmospheric conditions during regular observations of the MAGIC telescopes.
Aims
. We present ...and evaluate methods for converting aerosol extinction profiles, obtained with the LIDAR, into corrections of the reconstructed gamma-ray event energy and instrument response functions of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes.
Methods
. We assess the performance of these correction schemes with almost seven years of Crab Nebula data obtained with the MAGIC telescopes under various zenith angles and different aerosol extinction scenarios of Cherenkov light.
Results
. The methods enable the reconstruction of data taken under nonoptimal atmospheric conditions with aerosol transmissions down to ~0.65 with systematic uncertainties comparable to those for data taken under optimal conditions. For the first time, the correction of data affected by clouds has been included in the assessment. The data can also be corrected when the transmission is lower than 0.65, but the results are less accurate and suffer from larger systematics.
We use 73 h of stereoscopic data taken with the MAGIC telescopes to investigate the very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission of the Crab pulsar. Our data show a highly significant pulsed signal in ...the energy range from 50 to 400 GeV in both the main pulse (P1) and the interpulse (P2) phase regions. We provide the widest spectra to date of the VHE components of both peaks, and these spectra extend to the energy range of satellite-borne observatories. The good resolution and background rejection of the stereoscopic MAGIC system allows us to cross-check the correctness of each spectral point of the pulsar by comparison with the corresponding (strong and well-known) Crab nebula flux. The spectra of both P1 and P2 are compatible with power laws with photon indices of 4.0 ± 0.8 (P1) and 3.42 ± 0.26 (P2), respectively, and the ratio P1/P2 between the photon counts of the two pulses is 0.54 ± 0.12. The VHE emission can be understood as an additional component produced by the inverse Compton scattering of secondary and tertiary e± pairs on IR-UV photons.
We report on the detection of very-high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) γ-ray emission from NGC 1275, the central radio galaxy of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. The source has been detected by the MAGIC ...telescopes with a statistical significance of 6.6σ above 100 GeV in 46 h of stereo observations carried out between August 2010 and February 2011. The measured differential energy spectrum between 70 GeV and 500 GeV can be described by a power law with a steep spectral index of Γ = −4.1 ± 0.7stat ± 0.3syst, and the average flux above 100 GeV is Fγ = (1.3 ± 0.2stat ± 0.3syst) × 10-11 cm-2 s-1. These results, combined with the power-law spectrum measured in the first two years of observations by the Fermi-LAT above 100 MeV, with a spectral index of Γ ≃ − 2.1, strongly suggest the presence of a break or cut-off around tens of GeV in the NGC 1275 spectrum. The light curve of the source above 100 GeV does not show hints of variability on a month time scale. Finally, we report on the nondetection in the present data of the radio galaxy IC 310, previously discovered by the Fermi-LAT and MAGIC. The derived flux upper limit FU.L.γ (>300 GeV) = 1.2 × 10-12 cm-2 s-1 is a factor ~ 3 lower than the mean flux measured by MAGIC between October 2009 and February 2010, thus confirming the year time-scale variability of the source at VHE.
Context. The W51 complex hosts the supernova remnant W51C which is known to interact with the molecular clouds in the star forming region W51B. In addition, a possible pulsar wind nebula CXO ...J192318.5+140305 was found likely associated with the supernova remnant. Gamma-ray emission from this region was discovered by Fermi/LAT (between 0.2 and 50 GeV) and H.E.S.S. (>1 TeV). The spatial distribution of the events could not be used to pinpoint the location of the emission among the pulsar wind nebula, the supernova remnant shell and/or the molecular cloud. However, the modeling of the spectral energy distribution presented by the Fermi/LAT collaboration suggests a hadronic emission mechanism. The possibility that the gamma-ray emission from such an object is of hadronic origin can contribute to solvingthe long-standing problem of the contribution to galactic cosmic rays by supernova remnants. Aims. Our aim is to determine the morphology of the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission of W51 and measure its spectral properties. Methods. We performed observations of the W51 complex with the MAGIC telescopes for more than 50 h. The energy range accessible with MAGIC extends from 50 GeV to several TeV, allowing for the first spectral measurement at these energies. In addition, the good angular resolution in the medium (few hundred GeV) to high (above 1 TeV) energies allow us to perform morphological studies. We look for underlying structures by means of detailed morphological studies. Multi-wavelength data from this source have been sampled to model the emission with both leptonic and hadronic processes. Results. We detect an extended emission of very-high-energy gamma rays, with a significance of 11 standard deviations. We extend the spectrum from the highest Fermi/LAT energies to ~5 TeV and find that it follows a single power law with an index of 2.58 ± 0.07stat ± 0.22syst. The main part of the emission coincides with the shocked cloud region, while we find a feature extending towards the pulsar wind nebula. The possible contribution of the pulsar wind nebula, assuming a point-like source, shows no dependence on energy and it is about 20% of the overall emission. The broad band spectral energy distribution can be explained with a hadronic model that implies proton acceleration above 100 TeV. This result, together with the morphology of the source, tentatively suggests that we observe ongoing acceleration of ions in the interaction zone between supernova remnant and cloud.
Galaxy clusters are being assembled today in the most energetic phase of hierarchical structure formation which manifests itself in powerful shocks that contribute to a substantial energy density of ...cosmic rays (CRs). Hence, clusters are expected to be luminous gamma-ray emitters since they also act as energy reservoirs for additional CR sources, such as active galactic nuclei and supernova-driven galactic winds. To detect the gamma-ray emission from CR interactions with the ambient cluster gas, we conducted the deepest to date observational campaign targeting a galaxy cluster at very high-energy gamma-rays and observed the Perseus cluster with the MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes for a total of ~85 h of effective observing time. This campaign resulted in the detection of the central radio galaxy NGC 1275 at energies E > 100 GeV with a very steep energy spectrum. Here, we restrict our analysis to energies E > 630 GeV and detect no significant gamma-ray excess. This constrains the average CR-to-thermal pressure ratio to be ≲1–2%, depending on assumptions and the model for CR emission. Comparing these gamma-ray upper limits to models inferred from cosmological cluster simulations that include CRs constrains the maximum CR acceleration efficiency at structure formation shocks to be <50%.Alternatively, this may argue for non-negligible CR transport processes such as CR streaming and diffusion into the outer cluster regions. Finally, we derive lower limits on the magnetic field distribution assuming that the Perseus radio mini-halo is generated by secondary electrons/positrons that are created in hadronic CR interactions: assuming a spectrum of E-2.2 around TeV energies as implied by cluster simulations, we limit the central magnetic field to be >4–9 μG, depending on the rate of decline of the magnetic field strength toward larger radii. This range is well below field strengths inferred from Faraday rotation measurements in cool cores. Hence, the hadronic model remains a plausible explanation of the Perseus radio mini-halo.
Context. 3C 279, the first quasar discovered to emit VHE γ-rays by the MAGIC telescope in 2006, was reobserved by MAGIC in January 2007 during a major optical flare and from December 2008 to April ...2009 following an alert from the Fermi space telescope on an exceptionally high γ-ray state. Aims. The January 2007 observations resulted in a detection on January 16 with significance 5.4σ, corresponding to a F (>150 GeV) (3.8 ± 0.8) × 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1 while the overall data sample does not show significant signal. The December 2008–April 2009 observations did not detect the source. We study the multiwavelength behaviour of the source at the epochs of MAGIC observations, collecting quasi-simultaneous data at optical and X-ray frequencies and for 2009 also γ-ray data from Fermi. Methods. We study the light curves and spectral energy distribution of the source. The spectral energy distributions of three observing epochs (including the February 2006, which has been previously published) are modelled with one-zone inverse Compton models and the emission on January 16, 2007 also with two zone model and with a lepto-hadronic model. Results. We find that the VHE γ-ray emission detected in 2006 and 2007 challenges standard one-zone model, based on relativistic electrons in a jet scattering broad line region photons, while the other studied models fit the observed spectral energy distribution more satisfactorily.
We present the analysis of MOA-2007-BLG-197Lb, the first brown dwarf companion to a Sun-like star detected through gravitational microlensing. The event was alerted and followed-up photometrically by ...a network of telescopes from the PLANET, MOA, and μFUN collaborations, and observed at high angular resolution using the NaCo instrument at the VLT. From the modelling of the microlensing light curve, we derived basic parameters such as, the binary lens separation in Einstein radius units (s ≃ 1.13), the mass ratio q = (4.732 ± 0.020) × 10-2 and the Einstein radius crossing time (tE ≃ 82 d). Because of this long time scale, we took annual parallax and orbital motion of the lens in the models into account, as well as finite source effects that were clearly detected during the source caustic exit. To recover the lens system’s physical parameters, we combined the resulting light curve best-fit parameters with (J,H,Ks) magnitudes obtained with VLT NaCo and calibrated using IRSF and 2MASS data. From this analysis, we derived a lens total mass of 0.86 ± 0.04 M⊙ and a lens distance of DL = 4.2 ± 0.3 kpc. We find that the companion of MOA-2007-BLG-197L is a brown dwarf of 41 ± 2 MJ observed at a projected separation of a⊥ = 4.3 ± 0.1 AU, and orbits a 0.82 ± 0.04 M⊙ G-K dwarf star. We then placed the companion of MOA-2007-BLG-197L in a mass-period diagram consisting of all brown dwarf companions detected so far through different techniques, including microlensing, transit, radial velocity, and direct imaging (most of these objects orbit solar-type stars). To study the statistical properties of this population, we performed a two-dimensional, non-parametric probability density distribution fit to the data, which draws a structured brown dwarf landscape. We confirm the existence of a region that is strongly depleted in objects at short periods and intermediate masses (P ≲ 30 d, M ~ 30−60 MJ), but also find an accumulation of objects around P ~ 500 d and M ~ 20 MJ, as well as another depletion region at long orbital periods (P ≳ 500 d) and high masses (M ≳ 50 MJ). While these data provide important clues on the different physical mechanisms of formation (or destruction) that shape the brown dwarf desert, more data are needed to establish their relative importance, in particular as a function of host star mass. Future microlensing surveys should soon provide more detections, in particular for red dwarf hosts, thus uniquely complementing the solar-type host sample.