MACHO Alert 95-30: First Real-Time Observation of Extended Source Effects in Gravitational Microlensing

TLDR: In this article, the authors present an analysis of MACHO Alert 95-30, a dramatic microlensing event toward the Galactic bulge whose peak magnification departs significantly from the standard point-source micro-lensing model.

Abstract: We present analysis of MACHO Alert 95-30, a dramatic gravitational microlensing event toward the Galactic bulge whose peak magnification departs significantly from the standard point-source microlensing model Alert 95-30 was observed in real time by the Global Microlensing Alert Network (GMAN), which obtained densely sampled photometric and spectroscopic data throughout the event We interpret the light-curve fine structure as indicating transit of the lens across the extended face of the source star This signifies resolution of a star several kiloparsecs distant We find a lens angular impact parameter θmin/θsource = 0715 ± 0003 This information, along with the radius and distance of the source, provides an additional constraint on the lensing system Spectroscopic and photometric data indicate the source is a M4 III star of radius 61 ± 12 R☉, located on the far side of the bulge at ~9 kpc We derive a lens angular velocity, relative to the source, of 215 ± 29 km s-1 kpc-1, where the error is dominated by uncertainty in the angular size of the source star Likelihood analysis yields a median lens mass of 067 -->+ 253−046 M☉, located with 80% probability in the Galactic bulge at a distance of 693 -->+ 156−225 kpc If the lens is a main-sequence star, we can include constraints on the lens luminosity This modifies our estimates to Mlens=053 -->+ 052−035 M☉ and Dlens=657 -->+ 099−225 kpc Spectra taken during the event show that the absorption-line equivalent widths of Hα and the TiO bands near 6700 A vary, as predicted for microlensing of an extended source This is most likely due to center-to-limb variation in the stellar spectral lines The observed spectral changes further support our microlensing interpretation These data demonstrate the feasibility of using microlensing limb crossings as a tool to probe stellar atmospheres directly