Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2003-11-18
Astrophys.J. 604 (2004) 372-378
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
total 8 pages, including 3 figures, ApJ, in press (Mar 1, 2004)
Scientific paper
10.1086/381429
Various methods have been proposed to search for extrasolar planets. Compared to the other methods, microlensing has unique applicabilities to the detections of Earth-mass and free-floating planets. However, the microlensing method is seriously flawed by the fact that the masses of the detected planets cannot be uniquely determined. Recently, Gould, Gaudi, & Han introduced an observational setup that enables one to resolve the mass degeneracy of the Earth-mass planets. The setup requires a modest adjustment to the orbit of an already proposed Microlensing planet-finder satellite combined with ground-based observations. In this paper, we show that a similar observational setup can also be used for the mass determinations of free-floating planets with masses ranging from ~0.1 M_J to several Jupiter masses. If the proposed observational setup is realized, the future lensing surveys will play important roles in the studies of Earth-mass and free-floating planets, which are the populations of planets that have not been previously probed.
Chung Sun-Ju
Han Cheongho
Kang Sang-jun
Kim Doeon
Lee Dong Wook
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