Related papers: AGAPE, a microlensing search in the direction of M…
M31 is a very tempting target for a microlensing search of compact objects in galactic haloes. It is the nearest large galaxy, it probably has its own dark halo, and its tilted position with respect to the line of sight provides an…
AGAPE is an observational search of massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) in the direction of M31 by means of a novel method: the gravitational microlensing of unresolved stars. The search consists in examining CCD pixel light curves for…
We describe a new method to search for gravitational microlensing toward the Galactic bulge that employs a small camera rather than a conventional telescope and probes new regions of parameter space. The small aperture (~65 mm) permits…
I demonstrate that one can detect pixel gravitational microlensing events at the rate $\sim 180\ {\rm events}\ {\rm yr}^{-1}$ and that some fraction of events ($\sim 15$) will be good enough to measure time scales at the $20\%$ level if the…
Pixel lensing is gravitational microlensing of unresolved stars. The main target explored up to now has been the nearby galaxy of Andromeda, M31. The scientific issues of interest are the search for dark matter in form of compact halo…
We show that exoplanets in the M31 galaxy may be detected with the pixel-lensing method by using telescopes making high cadence observations of an ongoing microlensing event. Although the mean mass for detectable exoplanets is about $2…
We apply the pixel method of analysis (sometimes called ``pixel lensing'') to a small subset of the EROS-1 microlensing observations of the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The pixel method is designed to find microlensing events of…
We report the discovery of a short-duration microlensing candidate in the Northern field of the POINT-AGAPE pixel lensing survey towards M31. The full-width at half-maximum timescale is very short (tfwhm = 1.8 days) and the source star has…
We present the first results of the analysis of data collected during the 1998-99 observational campaign at the 1.3 meter McGraw-Hill Telescope, towards the Andromeda galaxy (M31), aimed to the detection of gravitational microlensing…
The Andromeda galaxy (M31) provides a new line of sight for Galactic MACHO studies and also a signature, near-far asymmetry, which may establish the existence of MACHOs in the M31 halo. We outline the principles behind the so-called…
Several exoplanets have been detected towards the Galactic bulge with the microlensing technique. We show that exoplanets in M31 may also be detected with the pixel-lensing method, if telescopes making high cadence observations of an…
I report on recent results from the POINT-AGAPE pixel-lensing experiment, which is engaged in a search towards the Andromeda galaxy (M31) for gravitational microlensing signatures from massive compact halo objects (Machos). An analysis of…
Recent results of the SLOTT-AGAPE and POINT-AGAPE collaborations on a search for microlensing events in direction of the Andromeda galaxy, by using the pixel method, are reported. The detection of 4 microlensing events, some likely to be…
We have carried out a survey of the Andromeda galaxy for unresolved microlensing (pixel lensing). We present a subset of four short timescale, high signal-to-noise microlensing candidates found by imposing severe selection criteria: the…
Recent surveys monitoring millions of light curves of resolved stars in the LMC have discovered several microlensing events. Unresolved stars could however significantly contribute to the microlensing rate towards the LMC. Monitoring…
We present WeCAPP, a long term monitoring project searching for microlensing events towards M 31. Since 1997 the bulge of M 31 was monitored in two different wavebands with the Wendelstein 0.8 m telescope. In 1999 we extended our…
We report the discovery of a short-duration microlensing candidate in the northern field of the POINT-AGAPE pixel lensing survey towards M31. The full-width half-maximum timescale is very short, just 1.8 days. Almost certainly, the source…
The POINT-AGAPE collaboration is carrying out a search for gravitational microlensing toward M31 to reveal galactic dark matter in the form of MACHOs (Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Objects) in the halos of the Milky Way and M31. A…
We discuss pixel lensing observations towards M31 carried out at the Loiano telescope. We have established a fully automatic pipeline for the detection and the characterization of microlensing events. We have evaluated the efficiency of the…
An automated search is carried out for microlensing events using a catalogue of 44554 variable superpixel lightcurves derived from our three-year monitoring program of M31. Each step of our candidate selection is objective and reproducible…