Search

In the second part of the OGLE-III Catalog of Variable Stars (OIII-CVS) we present 197 type II Cepheids and 83 anomalous Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The sample of type II Cepheids consists of 64 BL Her stars, 96 W Vir stars and 37 RV Tau stars. Anomalous Cepheids are divided into 62 fundamental-mode and 21 first-overtone pulsators. These are the largest samples of such types of variable stars detected anywhere outside the Galaxy. We present the period-luminosity and color-magnitude diagrams of stars in the sample. If the boundary period between BL Her and W Vir stars is adopted at 4 days, both groups differ significantly in (V-I) colors. We identify a group of 16 peculiar W Vir stars with different appearance of the light curves, brighter and bluer than ordinary stars of that type. Four of these peculiar W Vir stars show additional eclipsing modulation superimposed on the pulsation light curves. Four other stars of that type show long-period secondary variations which may be ellipsoidal modulations. It suggests that peculiar W Vir subgroup may be related to binarity. In total, we identified seven type II Cepheids simultaneously exhibiting eclipsing variations which is a very large fraction compared to classical Cepheids in the LMC. We discuss diagrams showing Fourier parameters of the light curve decomposition against periods. Three sharp features interpreted as an effect of resonances between radial modes are detectable in these diagrams for type II Cepheids., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures

We report the detection of the cool, Jovian-mass planet MOA-2007-BLG-400Lb. The planet was detected in a high-magnification microlensing event (with peak magnification A_max = 628) in which the primary lens transited the source, resulting in a dramatic smoothing of the peak of the event. The angular extent of the region of perturbation due to the planet is significantly smaller than the angular size of the source, and as a result the planetary signature is also smoothed out by the finite source size. Thus the deviation from a single-lens fit is broad and relatively weak (~ few percent). Nevertheless, we demonstrate that the planetary nature of the deviation can be unambiguously ascertained from the gross features of the residuals, and detailed analysis yields a fairly precise planet/star mass ratio of q = 0.0026+/-0.0004, in accord with the large significance (\Delta\chi^2=1070) of the detection. The planet/star projected separation is subject to a strong close/wide degeneracy, leading to two indistinguishable solutions that differ in separation by a factor of ~8.5. Upper limits on flux from the lens constrain its mass to be M < 0.75 M_Sun (assuming it is a main-sequence star). A Bayesian analysis that includes all available observational constraints indicates a primary in the Galactic bulge with a mass of ~0.2-0.5 M_Sun and thus a planet mass of ~ 0.5-1.3 M_Jupiter. The separation and equilibrium temperature are ~0.6-1.1AU (~5.3-9.7AU) and ~103K (~34K) for the close (wide) solution. If the primary is a main-sequence star, follow-up observations would enable the detection of its light and so a measurement of its mass and distance., Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to ApJ

We report on the discovery of a Cepheid population in the Sculptor Group spiral galaxy NGC 247 for the first time. On the basis of wide-field images collected in photometric surveys in V and I bands which were conducted with three different telescopes and cameras, 23 Cepheid variables were discovered with periods ranging from 17 to 131 days. We have constructed the period-luminosity relations from these data and obtain distance moduli to NGC 247 of 28.20 $\pm$ 0.05 mag (internal error) in V, 28.04 $\pm$ 0.06 mag in I, and 27.80 $\pm$ 0.09 mag in the reddening-independent Wesenheit index. From our optical data we have determined the total mean reddening of the Cepheids in NGC 247 as E(B-V)=0.13 mag, which brings the true distance modulus determinations from the V and I bands into excellent agreement with the distance determination in the Wesenheit index. The best estimate for the true distance modulus of NGC 247 from our optical Cepheid photometry is 27.80 $\pm$0.09 (internal error) $\pm$ 0.09 mag (systematic error) which is in excellent agreement with other recent distance determinations for NGC 247 from the Tip of the Red Giant branch method, and from the Tully-Fisher relation. The distance for NGC 247 places this galaxy at twice the distance of two other Sculptor Group galaxies, NGC 300 and NGC 55, yielding supporting evidence for the filament-like structure of this group of galaxies. The reported distance value is tied to an assumed LMC distance modulus of 18.50 mag., Comment: AJ accepted

We present the first part of a new catalog of variable stars (OIII-CVS) compiled from the data collected in the course of the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III). In this paper we describe the catalog of 3361 classical Cepheids detected in the ~40 square degrees area in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The sample consists of 1848 fundamental-mode (F), 1228 first-overtone (1O), 14 second-overtone (2O), 61 double-mode F/1O, 203 double-mode 1O/2O, 2 double-mode 1O/3O, and 5 triple-mode classical Cepheids. This sample is supplemented by the list of 23 ultra-low amplitude variable stars which may be Cepheids entering or exiting instability strip. The catalog data include VI high-quality photometry collected since 2001, and for some stars supplemented by the OGLE-II photometry obtained between 1997 and 2000. We provide basic parameters of the stars: coordinates, periods, mean magnitudes, amplitudes and parameters of the Fourier light curve decompositions. Individual objects of particular interest are discussed, including single-mode second-overtone Cepheids, multiperiodic pulsators with unusual period ratios or Cepheids in eclipsing binary systems. We discuss the variations of the Fourier coefficients with periods and point out on the sharp feature for periods around 0.35 days of first-overtone Cepheids, which can be explained by the occurrence of 2:1 resonance between the first and fifth overtones. Similar behavior at P=3 days for 1O Cepheids and P=10 days for F Cepheids are also interpreted as an effect of resonances between two radial modes. We fit the period-luminosity relations to our sample of Cepheids and compare these functions with previous determinations., Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures

We report the discovery of three new triple-mode classical Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud, two of them with the fundamental, first overtone and second overtone excited, and one pulsating simultaneously in the first three overtones. Thus, the number of triple-mode Cepheids in the LMC is increased to five. We also present two objects belonging probably to a new type of double-mode Cepheids having the first and third overtones excited. We measure the rates of period change in these stars and detect decrease of periods in two of them, what is in conflict with theoretical predictions., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We present the OGLE-III Photometric Maps of the Large Magellanic Cloud. They cover about 40 square degrees of the LMC and contain mean, calibrated VI photometry and astrometry of about 35 million stars observed during seven observing seasons of the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment - OGLE-III. We discuss the quality of data and present color-magnitude diagrams of selected fields. The OGLE-III Photometric Maps of the LMC are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures

We describe methods applied to the final photometric reductions and calibrations to the standard system of the images collected during the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment survey - OGLE-III. Astrometric reduction methods are also presented. The OGLE-III data constitute a unique data set covering the Magellanic Clouds, Galactic bulge and Galactic disk fields monitored regularly every clear night since 2001 and being significant extension and continuation of the earlier OGLE observations. With the earlier OGLE-II and OGLE-I photometry some of the observed fields have now 16-year long photometric coverage., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures

We report the detection of an extrasolar planet of mass ratio q ~ 2 x 10^(-4) in microlensing event MOA-2007-BLG-192. The best fit microlensing model shows both the microlensing parallax and finite source effects, and these can be combined to obtain the lens masses of M = 0.060 (+0.028 -0.021) M_sun for the primary and m = 3.3 (+4.9 -1.6) M_earth for the planet. However, the observational coverage of the planetary deviation is sparse and incomplete, and the radius of the source was estimated without the benefit of a source star color measurement. As a result, the 2-sigma limits on the mass ratio and finite source measurements are weak. Nevertheless, the microlensing parallax signal clearly favors a sub-stellar mass planetary host, and the measurement of finite source effects in the light curve supports this conclusion. Adaptive optics images taken with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) NACO instrument are consistent with a lens star that is either a brown dwarf or a star at the bottom of the main sequence. Follow-up VLT and/or Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations will either confirm that the primary is a brown dwarf or detect the low-mass lens star and enable a precise determination of its mass. In either case, the lens star, MOA-2007-BLG-192L, is the lowest mass primary known to have a companion with a planetary mass ratio, and the planet, MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, is probably the lowest mass exoplanet found to date, aside from the lowest mass pulsar planet., Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Scheduled for the Sept. 1, 2008 issue

We combine all available information to constrain the nature of OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb, the second planet discovered by microlensing and the first in a high-magnification event. These include photometric and astrometric measurements from Hubble Space Telescope, as well as constraints from higher order effects extracted from the ground-based light curve, such as microlens parallax, planetary orbital motion and finite-source effects. Our primary analysis leads to the conclusion that the host of Jovian planet OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is an M dwarf in the foreground disk with mass M= 0.46 +/- 0.04 Msun, distance D_l = 3.3 +/- 0.4 kpc, and thick-disk kinematics v_LSR ~ 103 km/s. From the best-fit model, the planet has mass M_p = 3.8 +/- 0.4 M_Jup, lies at a projected separation r_perp = 3.6 +/- 0.2 AU from its host and so has an equilibrium temperature of T ~ 55 K, i.e., similar to Neptune. A degenerate model less favored by \Delta\chi^2 = 2.1 (or 2.2, depending on the sign of the impact parameter) gives similar planetary mass M_p = 3.4 +/- 0.4 M_Jup with a smaller projected separation, r_\perp = 2.1 +/- 0.1 AU, and higher equilibrium temperature T ~ 71 K. These results from the primary analysis suggest that OGLE-2005-BLG-071Lb is likely to be the most massive planet yet discovered that is hosted by an M dwarf. However, the formation of such high-mass planetary companions in the outer regions of M-dwarf planetary systems is predicted to be unlikely within the core-accretion scenario. There are a number of caveats to this primary analysis, which assumes (based on real but limited evidence) that the unlensed light coincident with the source is actually due to the lens, that is, the planetary host. However, these caveats could mostly be resolved by a single astrometric measurement a few years after the event., Comment: 51 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables, Published in ApJ

We present nine new binary lens candidates from OGLE-III Early Warning System database for the season of 2005. We have also found four events interpreted as single mass lensing of double sources. The candidates have been selected by visual light curves inspection. Examining the models of binary lenses in our previous studies (10 caustic crossing events of OGLE-II seasons 1997--1999 and 34 binary lens events of OGLE-III seasons 2002--2004, including one planetary event), in this work and in three publications concerning planetary events of season 2005, we find four cases of extreme mass ratio binaries (q<0.01), and almost all other models with mass ratios in the range 0.1

Searches for extrasolar planets have uncovered an astonishing diversity of planetary systems, yet the frequency of solar system analogs remains unknown. The gravitational microlensing planet search method is potentially sensitive to multiple-planet systems containing analogs of all the solar system planets except Mercury. We report the detection of a multiple-planet system with microlensing. We identify two planets with masses of ~0.71 and ~0.27 times the mass of Jupiter and orbital separations of ~2.3 and ~4.6 astronomical units orbiting a primary star of mass ~0.50 solar masses at a distance of ~1.5 kiloparsecs. This system resembles a scaled version of our solar system in that the mass ratio, separation ratio, and equilibrium temperatures of the planets are similar to those of Jupiter and Saturn. These planets could not have been detected with other techniques; their discovery from only six confirmed microlensing planet detections suggests that solar system analogs may be common., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, published in the 15 February 2008 issue of Science

We present results of the photometric campaign for planetary and low-luminosity object transits conducted by the OGLE survey in 2005 season (Campaign #5). About twenty most promising candidates discovered in these data were subsequently verified spectroscopically with the VLT/FLAMES spectrograph. One of the candidates, OGLE-TR-211, reveals clear changes of radial velocity with small amplitude of 82 m/sec, varying in phase with photometric transit ephemeris. Thus, we confirm the planetary nature of the OGLE-TR-211 system. Follow-up precise photometry of OGLE-TR-211 with VLT/FORS together with radial velocity spectroscopy supplemented with high resolution, high S/N VLT/UVES spectra allowed us to derive parameters of the planet and host star. OGLE-TR-211b is a hot Jupiter orbiting a F7-8 spectral type dwarf star with the period of 3.68 days. The mass of the planet is equal to 1.03+/-0.20 M_Jup while its radius 1.36+0.18-0.09 R_Jup. The radius is about 20% larger than the typical radius of hot Jupiters of similar mass. OGLE-TR-211b is, then, another example of inflated hot Jupiters - a small group of seven exoplanets with large radii and unusually small densities - objects being a challenge to the current models of exoplanets., Comment: 6 pages. Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics

By re-processing the data of the second season of the OGLE survey for planetary transits and adding new mesurements on the same fields gathered in subsequent years with the OGLE telescope, we have identified 23 new transit candidates, recorded as OGLE-TR-178 to OGLE-TR-200. We studied the nature of these objects with the FLAMES/UVES multi-fiber spectrograph on the VLT. One of the candidates, OGLE-TR-182, was confirmed as a transiting gas giant planet on a 4-day orbit. We characterised it with further observations using the FORS1 camera and UVES spectrograph on the VLT. OGLE-TR-182b is a typical ``hot Jupiter'' with an orbital period of 3.98 days, a mass of 1.01 +- 0.15 MJup and a radius of 1.13 (+0.24-0.08) RJup. Confirming this transiting planet required a large investment in telescope time with the best instruments available, and we comment on the difficulty of the confirmation process for transiting planets in the OGLE survey. We delienate the zone were confirmation is difficult or impossible, and discuss the implications for the Corot space mission in its quest for transiting telluric planets., Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics

Period-luminosity (PL) relations of variable red giants in the Large (LMC) and Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC) are presented. The PL diagrams are plotted in three planes: logP-K_S, logP-W_{JK}, and logP-W_I. Fourteen PL sequences are distinguishable, and some of them consist of three closely spaced ridges. Each of the sequences is fitted with a linear or quadratic function. The similarities and differences between the PL relations in both galaxies are discussed for four types of red giant variability: OGLE Small Amplitude Red Giants (OSARGs), Miras and Semiregular Variables (SRVs), Long Secondary Periods (LSPs) and ellipsoidal variables. We propose a new method of separating OSARGs from non-variable stars and SRVs. The method employs the position in the reddening-free PL diagrams and the characteristic period ratios of these multiperiodic variables. The PL relations for the LMC OSARG are compared with the calculated relations for RGB models along isochrones of relevant ages and metallicities. We also compare measured periods and amplitudes of the OSARGs with predictions based on the relations valid for less luminous solar-like pulsators. Miras and SRVs seem to follow PL relation of the same slopes in the LMC and SMC, while for LSP and ellipsoidal variables slopes in both galaxies are different. The PL sequences defined by LSP variables and binary systems overlap in the whole range of analyzed wavebands. We put forward new arguments for the binary star scenario as an explanation of the LSP variability and elaborate on it further. The measured pulsation to orbital period ratio implies nearly constant ratio of the star radius to orbital distance, R/A=0.4, as we find. Combined effect of tidal friction and mass loss enhanced by the low-mass companion may explain why such a value is preferred., Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures

We have obtained deep images in the near-infrared J and K filters of four fields in the Sculptor Group spiral galaxy NGC 55 with the ESO VLT and ISAAC camera. For 40 long-period Cepheid variables in these fields which were recently discovered by Pietrzy{\'n}ski et al., we have determined mean J and K magnitudes from observations at two epochs, and derived distance moduli from the observed PL relations in these bands. Using these values together with the previously measured distance moduli in the optical V and I bands, we have determined a total mean reddening of the NGC 55 Cepheids of E(B-V)=0.127 $\pm$ 0.019 mag, which is mostly produced inside NGC 55 itself. For the true distance modulus of the galaxy, our multiwavelength analysis yields a value of 26.434 $\pm$ 0.037 mag (random error), corresponding to a distance of 1.94 $\pm$ 0.03 Mpc. This value is tied to an adopted true LMC distance modulus of 18.50 mag. The systematic uncertainty of our derived Cepheid distance to NGC 55 (apart from the uncertainty on the adopted LMC distance) is $\pm$4%, with the main contribution likely to come from the effect of blending of some of the Cepheids with unresolved companion stars. The distance of NGC 55 derived from our multiwavelength Cepheid analysis agrees within the errors with the distance of NGC 300, strengthening the case for a physical association of these two Sculptor Group galaxies., Comment: latex. ApJ accepted

The first INTEGRAL observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (carried out in 2003) are reported in which two sources are clearly detected. The first source, SMC X-1, shows a hard X-ray eclipse and measurements of its pulse period indicate a continuation of the long-term spin-up now covering ~30 years. The second source is likely to be a high mass X-ray binary, and shows a potential periodicity of 6.8s in the IBIS lightcurve. An exact X-ray or optical counterpart cannot be designated, but a number of proposed counterparts are discussed. One of these possible counterparts shows a strong coherent optical modulation at ~2.7d, which, together with the measured hard X-ray pulse period, would lead to this INTEGRAL source being classified as the fourth known high mass Roche lobe overflow system., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We have conducted an extensive wide-field imaging survey for Cepheid variables in the Local Group irregular galaxy WLM. From data obtained on 101 nights, we have discovered 60 Cepheids which include 14 of the 15 Cepheid variables previously detected by Sandage and Carlson. Down to a period of 3 days, our Cepheid survey in WLM should be practically complete. Importantly, we have found for the first time a long-period Cepheid (P=54.2 days) in this galaxy, alleviating the puzzle that WLM with its many blue, massive stars does not contain Cepheids with periods longer than about 10 days. Our data define tight period-luminosity relations in V, I and the reddening-free Wesenheit magnitude ${\rm W}_{\rm I}$ which are all extremely well fit by the corresponding slopes of the LMC Cepheid PL relation, suggesting no change of the PL relation slope down to a Cepheid metal abundance of about -1.0 dex, in agreement with other recent studies. We derive a true distance modulus to WLM of 25.144 $\pm$0.03 (r) $\pm$0.07 (s) mag from our data, in good agreement with the earlier 24.92 $\pm$ 0.21 mag determination of Lee, Freedman and Madore (1993a) from Cepheid variables. The quoted value of the systematic uncertainty does not include the contribution from the LMC distance which we have assumed to be 18.50 mag, as in the previous papers in our project., Comment: AJ accepted

We combine Spitzer and ground-based observations to measure the microlens parallax of OGLE-2005-SMC-001, the first such space-based determination since S. Refsdal proposed the idea in 1966. The parallax measurement yields a projected velocity \tilde v ~ 230 km/s, the typical value expected for halo lenses, but an order of magnitude smaller than would be expected for lenses lying in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) itself. The lens is a weak (i.e., non-caustic-crossing) binary, which complicates the analysis considerably but ultimately contributes additional constraints. Using a test proposed by Assef et al. (2006), which makes use only of kinematic information about different populations but does not make any assumptions about their respective mass functions, we find that the likelihood ratio is L_halo/L_SMC = 20. Hence, halo lenses are strongly favored but SMC lenses are not definitively ruled out. Similar Spitzer observations of additional lenses toward the Magellanic Clouds would clarify the nature of the lens population. The Space Interferometry Mission could make even more constraining measurements., Comment: ApJ, in press. Text and figures are updated to match the journal version

We present 19 binary lens candidates from OGLE-III Early Warning System database for the season of 2004. We have also found five events interpreted as single mass lensing of double sources. The candidates have been selected by visual light curves inspection. Examining the models of binary lenses of this and our previous studies (10 caustic crossing events of OGLE-II seasons 1997--1999 and 15 binary lens events of OGLE-III seasons 2002--2003) we find one case of extreme mass ratio binary (q ~ 0.005, a known planetary lens OGLE 2003-BLG-235/MOA 2003-BLG-53) and almost all other models with mass ratios in the range 0.1

Observational arguments supporting the binary explanation of the long secondary periods (LSP) phenomenon in red giants are presented. Photometry of about 1200 semiregular variables with the LSP in the Large Magellanic Cloud are analyzed using the MACHO and OGLE photometry. For about 5% of these objects additional ellipsoidal-like or eclipsing-like modulation with the same periods as the LSP is detectable. These double-humped variations are usually shifted in phase comparing to the LSP light curves. I discuss the model of binary system with a red giant as the primary component and a low-mass object as the secondary one. The mass lost by the red giant through the wind follows the spiral pattern in the orbit around the primary star and obscures it causing the LSP variations., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We present results of the long term monitoring of the gravitational lens QSO 2237+0305 conducted during the OGLE survey. Light curves of all four components of the lens obtained during the second phase of the OGLE project (OGLE-II; 1997-2000) are supplemented with the data collected in the OGLE-III phase in the observing seasons 2001-2006. Calibration procedures to tie the new OGLE-III data with already calibrated OGLE-II light curves are described. The resulting homogeneous OGLE data set is the most extensive photometric coverage of the gravitational lens QSO 2237+0305, spanning now one decade - the seasons from 1997 to 2006 - and revealing unique microlensing activity of this spectacular object. All photometric data of the gravitational lens QSO 2237+0305 collected by OGLE are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: 11 pages

We have detected, for the first time, Cepheid variables in the Sculptor Group SB(s)m galaxy NGC 55. From wide-field images obtained in the optical V and I bands during 77 nights in 2002-2003, we have found 143 Cepheids with periods ranging from 5.6 to 175.9 days. 133 of these objects have periods longer than 10 days, making NGC 55 to-date the galaxy with the largest known number of long-period Cepheids in the Sculptor Group. We construct period-luminosity relations from our data and obtain distance moduli corrected for the small foreground reddening to NGC 55 of 26.79 $\pm$ 0.04 mag (internal error) in V, 26.66 $\pm$ 0.03 mag in I and 26.40 $\pm$ 0.05 mag in the reddening-independent V-I Wesenheit index. The trend of increasing distance moduli with shorter wavelength hints at the existence of significant reddening intrinsic to NGC 55 which affects the measured Cepheid magnitudes. From our data, we determine the intrinsic mean reddening of the Cepheids in NGC 55 as E(B-V) = 0.102 mag which brings the distance determinations from the different bands into excellent agreement. Our best distance estimate for NGC 55 from the present optical Cepheid photometry is 26.40 mag $\pm$ 0.05 mag (internal error) $\pm$ 0.09 mag (systematic error). This value is tied to an assumed LMC distance of 18.50 mag. Our quoted systematic error of the present NGC 55 Cepheid distance does not take into account the current uncertainty on the distance of the fiducial LMC galaxy itself. Within the small respective uncertainties, the Sculptor Group galaxies NGC 55 and NGC 300 are at the same distance of 1.9 Mpc, strengthening the case for a physical association of these galaxies, Comment: Astronomical Journal in press (December issue)

We present an analysis of OGLE 2004-BLG-254, a high-magnification and relatively short duration microlensing event in which the source star, a Bulge K3-giant, has been spatially resolved by a point-like lens. We have obtained dense photometric coverage of the event light curve with OGLE and PLANET telescopes, as well as a high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum taken while the source was still magnified by 20, using the UVES/VLT spectrograph. Our dense coverage of this event allows us to measure limb darkening of the source star in the I and R bands. We also compare previous measurements of linear limb-darkening coefficients involving GK-giant stars with predictions from ATLAS atmosphere models. We discuss the case of K-giants and find a disagreement between limb-darkening measurements and model predictions, which may be caused by the inadequacy of the linear limb-darkening law., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&A (04/09/2006)

We present the first systematic search for microlensing events with variability in their baselines using data from the third phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III). A total of 137 candidates (88 new) was discovered toward the Galactic bulge. Among these, 21 have periodic oscillations in their baselines, 111 are irregular variables and 5 are potential long period detached eclipsing binaries. This is about 10% of the total number of constant baseline events. They are hence quite common and can be regarded as a new type of exotic events, which allow the determination of extra parameters of the events. We show that microlensing of variable stars may allow us to break the degeneracy between the blending parameter and magnification. We note that in some cases variability hidden in the baseline due to strong blending may be revealed in highly magnified events and resemble other exotic microlensing behavior, including planetary deviation. A new system (VEWS) for detecting ongoing variable baseline microlensing events is presented., Comment: The paper with high quality figures is available from http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/~wyrzykow/varbaseevents.ps.gz

We have obtained mosaic images of NGC 3109 in the V and I bands on 74 nights, spanning approximately one year. From these data, we have conducted an extensive search for Cepheid variables over the entire field of the galaxy, resulting in the discovery of 113 variables with periods ranging from 3.4 to 31.4 days. In this sample, 76 Cepheids, including many long-period variables, were not known before. For the previously known 45 Cepheids in this galaxy, our data proved that reported periods were wrong for 14 objects; for nearly all other previously known Cepheid variables we were able to significantly improve on the periods. We construct period-luminosity relations from our data and obtain reddening-corrected distance moduli of 25.72 $\pm$ 0.05 mag in V, and 25.66 $\pm$ 0.04 mag in I. The distance modulus derived form the reddening-independent V-I Wesenheit index turns out to be significantly shorter (25.54 $\pm$ 0.05 mag), which indicates that in addition to the foreground extinction of E(B-V) = 0.05 mag, there is an intrinsic to NGC 3109 redening of about 0.05 mag. Our distance obtained based on the reddening-free Wesenheit magnitudes is consistent with earlier distance determinations of NGC 3109 from Cepheids, and the tip of the red giant branch. We will improve on our distance and extinction determination combining our optical data with the follow-up near-infrared observations of a subsample of NGC 3109 Cepheids., Comment: accepted to be published in the ApJ

We present near-infrared J- and K-band photometry of 77 Cepheid variables in the Local Group galaxy NGC 3109. Combining our data with the previously published optical V- and I-band photometry of Cepheids in this galaxy we derive an accurate distance and interstellar reddening to NGC 3109. Adopting a distance modulus of 18.5 mag for the Large Magellanic Cloud, we obtain a true distance modulus to NGC 3109 of (m-M)_0 = 25.571 +- 0.024 mag (random error), corresponding to a distance of 1.30 +- 0.02 Mpc. The systematic uncertainty on this value (apart from the adopted LMC distance) is of the order of +-3%, the main contributors to this value being the uncertainty on the photometric zero points, and the effect of blending with unresolved companion stars. The total reddening determined from our multiwavelength solution is E(B-V)=0.087 +- 0.012 mag. About half of the reddening is produced internal to NGC 3109. Our distance result is consistent with previous determinations of the distance to NGC 3109, but has significantly reduced error bars., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

We have measured near-infrared magnitudes in the J and K bands for 56 Cepheid variables in the Local Group galaxy NGC 6822 with well-determined periods and optical light curves in the V and I bands. Using the template light curve approach of Soszynski, Gieren and Pietrzynski, accurate mean magnitudes were obtained from these data which allowed us to determine with unprecedented accuracy the distance to NGC 6822 from a multi-wavelength period-luminosity solution in the VIJK bands. From our data, we obtain a distance to NGC 6822 of (m-M)_{0} = 23.312 +- 0.021 (random error) mag, with an additional systematic uncertainty of about 3 %. This distance value is tied to an assumed LMC distance modulus of 18.50. From our multiwavelength approach, we find for the total (average) reddening to the NGC 6822 Cepheids E(B-V) = 0.356 +- 0.013 mag, which is in excellent agreement with a previous determination of McGonegal et al. from near-infrared photometry and implies significant internal reddening of the Cepheids in NGC 6822. Our present, definitive distance determination of NGC 6822 from Cepheids agrees within 2 % with the previous distance we had derived from optical photometry alone, but has significantly reduced error bars. Our Cepheid distance to NGC 6822 is in excellent agreement with the recent independent determination of Cioni and Habing from the I-band magnitude of the tip of the red giant branch. It also agrees well, within the errors, with the early determination of McGonegal et al. (1983) from random-phase H-band photometry of nine Cepheids., Comment: Accepted to be published in the ApJ

We detect a Neptune mass-ratio (q~8e-5) planetary companion to the lens star in the extremely high-magnification (A~800) microlensing event OGLE-2005-BLG-169. If the parent is a main-sequence star, it has mass M~0.5 M_sun implying a planet mass of ~13 M_earth and projected separation of ~2.7 AU. When intensely monitored over their peak, high-magnification events similar to OGLE-2005-BLG-169 have nearly complete sensitivity to Neptune mass-ratio planets with projected separations of 0.6 to 1.6 Einstein radii, corresponding to 1.6--4.3 AU in the present case. Only two other such events were monitored well enough to detect Neptunes, and so this detection by itself suggests that Neptune mass-ratio planets are common. Moreover, another Neptune was recently discovered at a similar distance from its parent star in a low-magnification event, which are more common but are individually much less sensitive to planets. Combining the two detections yields 90% upper and lower frequency limits f=0.37^{+0.30}_{-0.21} over just 0.4 decades of planet-star separation. In particular, f>16% at 90% confidence. The parent star hosts no Jupiter-mass companions with projected separations within a factor 5 of that of the detected planet. The lens-source relative proper motion is \mu~7--10 mas/yr, implying that if the lens is sufficiently bright, I<23.8, it will be detectable by HST by 3 years after peak. This would permit a more precise estimate of the lens mass and distance, and so the mass and projected separation of the planet. Analogs of OGLE-2005-BLG-169Lb orbiting nearby stars would be difficult to detect by other methods of planet detection, including radial velocities, transits, or astrometry., Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letters, 9 text pages + 4 figures + 1 table

In the favoured core-accretion model of formation of planetary systems, solid planetesimals accumulate to build up planetary cores, which then accrete nebular gas if they are sufficiently massive. Around M-dwarf stars (the most common stars in our Galaxy), this model favours the formation of Earth-mass to Neptune-mass planets with orbital radii of 1 to 10 astronomical units (AU), which is consistent with the small number of gas giant planets known to orbit M-dwarf host stars. More than 170 extrasolar planets have been discovered with a wide range of masses and orbital periods, but planets of Neptune's mass or less have not hitherto been detected at separations of more than 0.15 AU from normal stars. Here we report the discovery of a 5.5 (+5.5/-2.7) M_earth planetary companion at a separation of 2.6 (+1.5/-0.6) AU from a 0.22 (+0.21/-0.11) M_solar M-dwarf star. (We propose to name it OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, indicating a planetary mass companion to the lens star of the microlensing event.) The mass is lower than that of GJ876d, although the error bars overlap. Our detection suggests that such cool, sub-Neptune-mass planets may be more common than gas giant planets, as predicted by the core accretion theory.

We have performed a search for variable stars in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822 using wide-field multi-epoch VI photometry down to a limiting magnitude $V$ $\sim$ 22. Apart from the Cepheid variables in this galaxy already reported in an earlier paper by Pietrzynski et al. (2004), we have found 1019 "non-periodic" variable stars, 50 periodically variable stars with periods ranging from 0.12 to 66 days and 146 probably periodic variables. Twelve of these stars are eclipsing binaries and fifteen are likely new, low-amplitude Cepheids. Interestingly, seven of these Cepheid candidates have periods longer than 100 days, have very low amplitudes (less than 0.2 mag in $I$), and are very red. They could be young, massive Cepheids still embedded in dusty envelopes. The other objects span a huge range in colours and represent a mixture of different types of luminous variables. Many of the variables classified as non-periodic in the present study may turn out to be {\it periodic} variables once a much longer time baseline will be available to study them. We provide the catalogue of photometric parameters and show the atlas of light curves for the new variable stars. Our present catalogue is complementary to the one of Baldacci et al. (2005) which has focussed on very short-period and fainter variables in a subfield in NGC 6822., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

We have measured accurate near-infrared magnitudes in the J and K bands of 39 Cepheid variables in IC 1613 with well-determined periods and optical VI light curves. Using the template light curve approach of Soszy{\'n}ski, Gieren and Pietrzy{\'n}ski, accurate mean magnitudes were obtained from these data which allowed to determine the distance to IC 1613 relative to the LMC from a multiwavelength period-luminosity solution in the optical VI and near-IR JK bands, with an unprecedented accuracy. Our result for the IC 1613 distance is $(m-M)_{0} = 24.291 \pm 0.014$ (random error) mag, with an additional systematic uncertainty smaller than 2%. From our multiwavelength approach, we find for the total (average) reddening to the IC 1613 Cepheids $E(B-V) = 0.090 \pm 0.007$ mag,which is significantly higher than the foreground reddening of about 0.03 mag,showing the presence of appreciable dust extinction inside the galaxy. Our data suggest that the extinction law in IC 1613 is very similar to the galactic one.Our distance result agrees, within the uncertainties, with two earlier infrared Cepheid studies in this galaxy of Macri et al. (from HST data on 4 Cepheids), and McAlary et al. (from ground-based H-band photometry of 10 Cepheids), but our result has reduced the total uncertainty on the distance to IC 1613 (relative to the LMC) to less than 3%. With distances to nearby galaxies from Cepheid infrared photometry at this level of accuracy, which are currently being obtained in our Araucaria Project, it seems possible to significantly reduce the systematic uncertainty of the Hubble constant as derived from the HST Key Project approach, by improving the calibration of the metallicity effect on PL relation zero points, and by improving the distance determination to the LMC., Comment: ApJ in press

We use the OGLE-II and OGLE-III data in conjunction with the 2MASS near-infrared (NIR) photometry to identify and study Miras and Semiregular Variables (SRVs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We found in total 3221 variables of both types, populating two of the series of NIR period-luminosity (PL) sequences. The majority of these objects are double periodic pulsators, with periods belonging to both PL ridges. We indicate that in the period - Wesenheit index plane the oxygen-rich and carbon-rich AGB stars from the NIR PL sequences C, C' and D split into well separated ridges. Thus, we discover an effective method of distinguishing between O-rich and C-rich Miras, SRVs and stars with Long Secondary Periods using their V and I-band photometry. We present an empirical method of estimating the mean K_s magnitudes of the Long Period Variables using single-epoch K_s measurements and complete light curves in the I-band. We utilize these corrected magnitudes to show that the O-rich and C-rich Miras and SRVs follow somewhat different K_s-band PL relations., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, LaTeX. Photometric data presented in the paper are available from the OGLE Internet archive: http://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl/ or its US mirror: http://bulge.princeton.edu/~ogle/

We model binary microlensing events OGLE 2003-BLG-170, 267, and 291. Source angular sizes are measured for the events 267 and 291. Model fits to the light curves give parallaxes for the events 267 and 291, and relative source sizes for 170 and 267. Selfconsistency arguments provide extra limits on the models of the event 291. As a result we obtain likelihood estimate of the lens mass for the event 170, mass measurement based on angular size and parallax for 267, and narrow limits on mass in the case of 291. Brown dwarfs are most likely candidates for some of the lens components. The influence of the binary lens rotation and the Earth parallax may be important but hard to distinguish when modeling relatively short lasting binary lens events., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures

OGLE-2004-BLG-343 was a microlensing event with peak magnification A_{max}=3000+/-1100, by far the highest-magnification event ever analyzed and hence potentially extremely sensitive to planets orbiting the lens star. Due to human error, intensive monitoring did not begin until 43 minutes after peak, at which point the magnification had fallen to A~1200, still by far the highest ever observed. As the light curve does not show significant deviations due to a planet, we place upper limits on the presence of such planets by extending the method of Yoo et al. (2004b), which combines light-curve analysis with priors from a Galactic model of the source and lens populations, to take account of finite-source effects. This is the first event so analyzed for which finite-source effects are important, and hence we develop two new techniques for evaluating these effects. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that OGLE-2004-BLG-343 is no more sensitive to planets than two previously analyzed events with A_{max}~100, despite the fact that it was observed at ~12 times higher magnification. However, we show that had the event been observed over its peak, it would have been sensitive to almost all Neptune-mass planets over a factor of 5 of projected separation and even would have had some sensitivity to Earth-mass planets. This shows that some microlensing events being detected in current experiments are sensitive to very low-mass planets. We also give suggestions on how extremely high-magnification events can be more promptly monitored in the future., Comment: 50 pages, 13 figures, published in The Astrophysical Journal

We report the discovery of a several-Jupiter mass planetary companion to the primary lens star in microlensing event OGLE-2005-BLG-071. Precise (<1%) photometry at the peak of the event yields an extremely high signal-to-noise ratio detection of a deviation from the light curve expected from an isolated lens. The planetary character of this deviation is easily and unambiguously discernible from the gross features of the light curve. Detailed modeling yields a tightly-constrained planet-star mass ratio of q=m_p/M=0.0071+/-0.0003. This is the second robust detection of a planet with microlensing, demonstrating that the technique itself is viable and that planets are not rare in the systems probed by microlensing, which typically lie several kpc toward the Galactic center., Comment: 4 pages. Minor changes. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

We have obtained deep near-infrared images in J and K filters of three fields in the Sculptor galaxy NGC 300 with the ESO VLT and ISAAC camera. For 16 Cepheid variables in these fields, we have determined J and K magnitudes at two different epochs, and have derived their mean magnitudes in these bands. The slopes of the resulting period-luminosity relations are in very good agreement with the slopes of these relations measured in the LMC by Persson et al. Fitting the LMC slopes to our data, we have derived distance moduli in J and K. Using these values together with the values derived in the optical V and I bands in our previous work, we have determined an improved total reddening for NGC 300 of E(B-V)=0.096 +/- 0.006 mag, which yields extremely consistent values for the absorption-corrected distance modulus of the galaxy from VIJK bands. Our distance result for NGC 300 from this combined optical/near infrared Cepheid study is (m-M)_0 = 26.37 +/- 0.04 (random) +/- 0.03 (systematic) mag and is tied to an adopted true LMC distance modulus of 18.50 mag. Both random and systematic uncertainties are dominated by photometric errors, while errors due to reddening, metallicity effects and crowding are less important. Our distance determination is consistent with the earlier result from near-infrared (H-band) photometry of two Cepheids in NGC 300 by Madore et al., but far more accurate. Our distance value also agrees with the HST Key Project result of Freedman et al., and with the recent distance estimate for NGC 300 from Butler et al. from the TRGB I-band magnitude when our improved reddening is used to calculate the absorption corrections. Our distance results from the different optical and near-infrared bands indicate that the reddening law in NGC 300 must be very similar to the Galactic one., Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to ApJ

We present an empirical method for converting single-point near-infrared J, H, and K measurements of fundamental-mode Cepheids to mean magnitudes, using complete light curves in V or I bands. The algorithm is based on the template light curves in the near-infrared bandpasses. The mean uncertainty of the method is estimated to about 0.03 mag, which is smaller than the uncertainties obtained in other approaches to the problem in the literature., Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables

We used the OGLE-II and OGLE-III photometry of red giants in the Large Magellanic Cloud to select and study objects revealing ellipsoidal variability. We detected 1546 candidates for long period ellipsoidal variables and 121 eclipsing binary systems with clear ellipsoidal modulation. The ellipsoidal red giants follow a period-luminosity (PL) relationship (sequence E), and the scatter of the relation is correlated with the amplitude of variability: the larger the amplitude, the smaller the scatter. We note that some of the ellipsoidal candidates exhibit simultaneously OGLE Small Amplitude Red Giants pulsations. Thus, in some cases the Long Secondary Period (LSP) phenomenon can be explained by the ellipsoidal modulation. We also select about 1600 red giants with distinct LSP, which are not ellipsoidal variables. We discover that besides the sequence D in the PL diagram known before, the LSP giants form additional less numerous sequence for longer periods. We notice that the PL sequence of the ellipsoidal candidates is a direct continuation of the LSP sequence toward fainter stars, what might suggest that the LSP phenomenon is related to binarity but there are strong arguments against such a possibility. About 10% of the presented light curves reveal clear deformation by the eccentricity of the system orbits. The largest estimated eccentricity in our sample is about 0.4. All presented data, including individual BVI observations and finding charts are available from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX. Photometric data presented in the paper are available from the OGLE Internet archive: http://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl/ or its US mirror http://bulge.princeton.edu/~ogle/

We present results of two observing campaigns conducted by the OGLE-III survey in the 2003 observing season aiming at the detection of new objects with planetary transiting companions. Six fields of 35'x35' each located in the Galactic disk were monitored with high frequency for several weeks in February - July 2003. Additional observations of three of these fields were also collected in the 2004 season. Altogether about 800 and 1500 epochs were collected for the fields of both campaigns, respectively. The search for low depth transits was conducted on about 230000 stars with photometry better than 15 mmag. It was focused on detection of planetary companions, thus clear non-planetary cases were not included in the final list of selected objects. Altogether we discovered 40 stars with shallow (<0.05 mag) flat-bottomed transits. In each case several individual transits were observed allowing determination of photometric elements. Additionally, the lower limits on radii of the primary and companion were calculated. From the photometric point of view the new OGLE sample contains many very good candidates for extrasolar transiting planets. However, only the future spectroscopic follow-up observations of the OGLE sample - determination of the amplitude of radial velocity and exclusion of blending possibilities - may allow to confirm their planetary status. In general, the transiting objects may be extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, M-type dwarfs or fake transits caused by blending. All photometric data of objects with transiting companions discovered during the 2003 campaigns are available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: Minor changes. 16 pages. Full Appendix and photometric data presented in the paper are available from the OGLE Internet archive: http://ogle.astrouw.edu.pl or its US mirror http://bulge.princeton.edu/~ogle

Observations of the gravitational microlensing event MOA 2003-BLG-32/OGLE 2003-BLG-219 are presented for which the peak magnification was over 500, the highest yet reported. Continuous observations around the peak enabled a sensitive search for planets orbiting the lens star. No planets were detected. Planets 1.3 times heavier than Earth were excluded from more than 50 % of the projected annular region from approximately 2.3 to 3.6 astronomical units surrounding the lens star, Uranus-mass planets from 0.9 to 8.7 astronomical units, and planets 1.3 times heavier than Saturn from 0.2 to 60 astronomical units. These are the largest regions of sensitivity yet achieved in searches for extrasolar planets orbiting any star.

We have obtained mosaic images of NGC 6822 in V and I bands on 77 nights. From these data, we have conducted an extensive search for Cepheid variables over the entire field of the galaxy, and we have found 116 such variables with periods ranging from 1.7 to 124 days. We used the long-period ($>$ 5.6 days) Cepheids to establish the period-luminosity relations in V, I and in the reddening-independent Wesenheit index, which are all very tightly defined. Fitting the OGLE LMC slopes in the various bands to our data, we have derived distance values for NGC 6822 in V, I and ${\rm W}_{\rm I}$ which agree very well among themselves. Our adopted best distance value from the reddening-free Wesenheit index is 23.34 $\pm$ 0.04 (statistical) $\pm$ 0.05 (systematic) mag. This value agrees within the combined 1 sigma uncertainties with a previous distance value derived for NGC 6822 by McAlary et al. from near-IR photometry of 9 Cepheids, but our new value is significantly more accurate. We compare the slopes of the Cepheid PL relation in V and I as determined in the five best-observed nearby galaxies, which span a metallicity range from -1.0 to -0.3 dex, and find the data consistent with no metallicity dependence of the PL relation slope in this range. Comparing the magnitudes of 10-day Cepheids with the I-band magnitudes of the TRGB in the same set of galaxies, there is no evidence either for a significant variation of the period-luminosity zero points in V and I. The available data limit such a zero point variation to less than 0.03 mag, in the considered low-metallicity regime., Comment: Latex, Astronomical Journal accepted

We present 15 binary lens candidates from OGLE-III Early Warning System database for seasons 2002-2003. We also found 15 events interpreted as single mass lensing of double sources. The candidates were selected by visual light curves inspection. Examining the models of binary lenses of this and our previous study (10 caustic crossing events of OGLE-II seasons 1997-1999) we find one case of extreme mass ratio binary (q ~ 0.005) and the rest in the range 0.1

We present 97 QSO candidates in 48 Galactic Bulge fields of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment II (OGLE-II) covering about 11 square degrees, which are selected via their variability. We extend light curves of variable objects which were detected in 3-year baseline in the OGLE-II variable star catalog to 4th year. We search for objects which are faint (16

We present analysis of the large sample of variable red giants from the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds detected during the second phase of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-II) and supplemented with OGLE-III photometry. Comparing pulsation properties of detected objects we find that they constitute two groups with clearly distinct features. In this paper we analyze in detail small amplitude variable red giants (about 15400 and 3000 objects in the LMC and SMC, respectively). The vast majority of these objects are multi-periodic. At least 30% of them exhibit two modes closely spaced in the power spectrum, what likely indicates non-radial oscillations. About 50% exhibit additional so called Long Secondary Period. To distinguish between AGB and RGB red giants we compare PL diagrams of multi-periodic red giants located above and below the tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB). The giants above the TRGB form four parallel ridges in the PL diagram. Among much more numerous sample of giants below the TRGB we find objects located on the low luminosity extensions of these ridges, but most of the stars are located on the ridges slightly shifted in logP. We interpret the former as the second ascent AGB red giants and the latter as the first ascent RGB objects. Thus, we empirically show that the pulsating red giants fainter than the TRGB are a mixture of RGB and AGB giants. Finally, we compare the Petersen diagrams of the LMC, SMC and Galactic bulge variable red giants and find that they are basically identical indicating that the variable red giants in all these different stellar environments share similar pulsation properties., Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures included in GIF format

In a previous paper, we reported on the discovery of more than a hundred new Cepheid variables in the Sculptor Group spiral NGC 300 from wide-field images taken in the B and V photometric bands at ESO/La Silla. In this paper, we present additional VI data, derive improved periods and mean magnitudes for the variables, and construct period-luminosity relations in the V, I and the reddening-independent (V-I) Wesenheit bands using 58 Cepheid variables with periods between 11 and 90 days. We obtain tightly defined relations, and by fitting the slopes determined for the LMC Cepheids by the OGLE II Project we obtain reddening-corrected distances to the galaxy in all bands. We adopt as our best value the distance derived from the reddening-free Wesenheit magnitudes, which is 26.43 $\pm$ 0.04 (random) $\pm$ 0.05 (systematic) mag. We argue that our current distance result for NGC 300 is the most accurate which has so far been obtained using Cepheid variables, and that it is largely free from systematic effects due to metallicity, blending, and sample selection. It agrees very well with the recent distance determination from the tip of the red giant branch method obtained from HST data by Butler et al. (2004), and it is consistent with the Cepheid distance to NGC 300 which was derived by Freedman et al. (2001) from CCD photometry of a smaller sample of stars., Comment: Latex, Astronomical Journal in press

We present a high-precision I-band light curve for the Wolf-Rayet binary WR 20a, obtained as a sub-project of the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment. Rauw et al. have recently presented spectroscopy for this system, strongly suggesting extremely large minimum masses of 70.7 +/- 4.0 Mo and 68.8 +/- 3.8 Mo for the component stars of the system, with the exact values depending strongly on the period of the system. We detect deep eclipses of about 0.4 mag in the light curve of WR 20a, confirming and refining the suspected period of P=3.686 days and deriving an inclination angle of i=74.5 +/- 2 deg. Using these photometric data and the radial velocity data of Rauw et al., we derive the masses for the two components of WR 20a to be 83.0 +/- 5.0 Mo and 82.0 +/- 5.0 Mo. Therefore, WR 20a is confirmed to consist of two extremely massive stars and to be the most massive binary known with an accurate mass determination., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJL

We present new version of the OGLE-II catalog of eclipsing binary stars detected in the Small Magellanic Cloud, based on Difference Image Analysis catalog of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds containing data collected from 1997 to 2000. We found 1351 eclipsing binary stars in the central 2.4 square degree area of the SMC. 455 stars are newly discovered objects, not found in the previous release of the catalog. The eclipsing objects were selected with the automatic search algorithm based on the artificial neural network. The full catalog is accessible from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: 15 pages. Figure 3 and Appendixes A-C included in 'jpg' format. Full resolution paper, Appendices and photometric data presented in the paper are available from the OGLE Internet archive: http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/~ogle or its US mirror: http://bulge.astro.princeton.edu/~ogle

Microlensing is the only known direct method to measure the masses of stars that lack visible companions. In terms of microlensing observables, the mass is given by M=(c^2/4G)\tilde r_E \theta_E and so requires the measurement of both the angular Einstein radius, \theta_E, and the projected Einstein radius, \tilde r_E. Simultaneous measurement of these two parameters is extremely rare. Here we analyze OGLE-2003-BLG-238, a spectacularly bright (I_min=10.3), high-magnification (A_max = 170) microlensing event. Pronounced finite source effects permit a measurement of \theta_E = 650 uas. Although the timescale of the event is only t_E = 38 days, one can still obtain weak constraints on the microlens parallax: 4.4 AU < \tilde r_E < 18 AU at the 1 \sigma level. Together these two parameter measurements yield a range for the lens mass of 0.36 M_sun < M < 1.48 M_sun. As was the case for MACHO-LMC-5, the only other single star (apart from the Sun) whose mass has been determined from its gravitational effects, this estimate is rather crude. It does, however, demonstrate the viability of the technique. We also discuss future prospects for single-lens mass measurements., Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 23 pages including 3 figures

We present observations of the unusual microlensing event OGLE 2003-BLG-235/MOA 2003-BLG-53. In this event a short duration (~7 days) low amplitude deviation in the light curve due a single lens profile was observed in both the MOA and OGLE survey observations. We find that the observed features of the light curve can only be reproduced using a binary microlensing model with an extreme (planetary) mass ratio of 0.0039 +/- (11, 07) for the lensing system. If the lens system comprises a main sequence primary, we infer that the secondary is a planet of about 1.5 Jupiter masses with an orbital radius of ~3 AU., Comment: 13 pages, 3 colour figures. To appear in Astrophysical Journal Letters (May 2004)

We present results of the long term monitoring of the gravitationally lensed quasar HE1104-1805. The photometric data were collected between August 1997 and January 2002 as a subproject of the OGLE survey. We determine the time delay in the light curves of images A and B of HE1104-1805 to be equal to 157+/-21 days with the variability in the image B light curve leading variability of the image A. The result is in excellent agreement with the earlier determination by Ofek and Maoz. OGLE photometry of HE1104-1805 is available to the astronomical community from the OGLE Internet archive., Comment: 13 pages. Photometry of HE1104-1805 available from the OGLE Internet archive: ftp://ftp.astrouw.edu.pl/ogle/ogle2/HE1104/ or its US mirror ftp://bulge.princeton.edu/ogle/ogle2/HE1104/