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We analyze the planetary microlensing event MOA-2010-BLG-328. The best fit yields host and planetary masses of Mh = 0.11 ± 0.01 M☼ and Mp = 9.2 ± 2.2 M⊕, corresponding to a very late M dwarf and sub-Neptune-mass planet, respectively. The system lies at DL = 0.81 ± 0.10 kpc with projected separation r⊥ = 0.92 ± 0.16 AU. Because of the host's a priori unlikely close distance, as well as the unusual nature of the system, we consider the possibility that the microlens parallax signal, which determines the host mass and distance, is actually due to xallarap (source orbital motion) that is being misinterpreted as parallax. We show a result that favors the parallax solution, even given its close host distance. We show that future high-resolution astrometric measurements could decisively resolve the remaining ambiguity of these solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A planetary microlensing signal is generally characterized by a short-term perturbation to the standard single lensing light curve. A subset of binary-source events can produce perturbations that mimic planetary signals, thereby introducing an ambiguity between the planetary and binary-source interpretations. In this paper, we present the analysis of the microlensing event MOA-2012-BLG-486, for which the light curve exhibits a short-lived perturbation. Routine modeling not considering data taken in different passbands yields a best-fit planetary model that is slightly preferred over the best-fit binary-source model. However, when allowed for a change in the color during the perturbation, we find that the binary-source model yields a significantly better fit and thus the degeneracy is clearly resolved. This event not only signifies the importance of considering various interpretations of short-term anomalies, but also demonstrates the importance of multi-band data for checking the possibility of false-positive planetary signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many models have been proposed, the physical mechanisms responsible for the formation of low-mass brown dwarfs (BDs) are poorly understood. Themultiplicity properties and minimummass of the BD mass function provide critical empirical diagnostics of these mechanisms.We present the discovery via gravitational microlensing of two very low mass, very tight binary systems. These binaries have directly and precisely measured total system masses of 0.025M☉ and 0.034M☉, and projected separations of 0.31 AU and 0.19 AU, making them the lowestmass and tightest field BD binaries known. The discovery of a population of such binaries indicates that BD binaries can robustly form at least down to masses of ~0.02M☉. Future microlensing surveys will measure a mass-selected sample of BD binary systems, which can then be directly compared to similar samples of stellar binaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the development of large-format, wide-field cameras, microlensing surveys are now able to monitor millions of stars with sufficient cadence to detect planets. These new discoveries will span the full range of significance levels including planetary signals too small to be distinguished from the noise. At present, we do not understand where the threshold is for detecting planets. MOA-2011-BLG-293Lb is the first planet to be published from the new surveys, and it also has substantial follow-up observations. This planet is robustly detected in survey+follow-up data (Δχ2 ∼ 5400). The planet/host mass ratio is q = (5.3 ± 0.2) × 10–3. The best-fit projected separation is s = 0.548 ± 0.005 Einstein radii. However, due to the s↔s–1 degeneracy, projected separations of s–1 are only marginally disfavored at Δχ2 = 3. A Bayesian estimate of the host mass gives ML = 0.43+0.27– 0.17M☼, with a sharp upper limit of ML < 1.2 M☼ from upper limits on the lens flux. Hence, the planet mass is mp = 2.4+1.5– 0.9MJup, and the physical projected separation is either r⊥ ≃ 1.0 AU or r⊥ ≃ 3.4 AU. We show that survey data alone predict this solution and are able to characterize the planet, but the Δχ2 is much smaller (Δχ2 ∼ 500) than with the follow-up data. The Δχ2 for the survey data alone is smaller than for any other securely detected planet. This event suggests a means to probe the detection threshold, by analyzing a large sample of events like MOA-2011-BLG-293, which have both follow-up data and high-cadence survey data, to provide a guide for the interpretation of pure survey microlensing data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]