Related papers: Gravitational Microlensing with the Space Interfer…
Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool for probing the physical properties of quasar accretion disks and properties of the lens galaxy such as its dark matter fraction and mean stellar mass. Unfortunately the number of lensed quasars…
Microlensing events provide a unique way to detect and measure the masses of isolated, non-luminous objects, particularly dark stellar remnants. Under certain conditions, it is possible to measure the mass of these objects using photometry…
We present a novel technique to determine the absolute inclination of single stars using multi-wavelength sub-milliarcsecond astrometry. The technique exploits the effect of gravity darkening, which causes a wavelength-dependent astrometric…
We present a new approach in the study of the Initial Mass function (IMF) in external galaxies based on quasar microlensing observations. We use measurements of quasar microlensing magnifications in 24 lensed quasars to estimate the average…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool to detect compact matter on very different mass scales. Of particular importance is the fact that lensing is sensitive to both luminous and dark matter alike. Depending on the mass scale, all lensing…
We investigate the possibilities that pulsars act as the lens in gravitational microlensing events towards the galactic bulge or a spiral arm. Our estimation is based on expectant survey and observations of FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture…
Compact dark matter has been efficiently constrained in the M <~ 10 M_sun mass range by null searches for microlensing of stars in nearby galaxies. Here we propose to probe the mass range M >~ 10 M_sun by seeking echoes in gamma-ray-burst…
During some gravitational lensing events, the lens transits the face of the star. This causes a shift in the apparent radial velocity of the star which is proportional to its rotation speed. It also changes the magnification relative to…
We estimate the rate of near-field microlensing events expected from all-sky surveys and investigate the properties of these events. Under the assumption that all lenses are composed of stars, our estimation of the event rate ranges from…
The Star Watch extreme-precision astrometry mission (0.1 - 1.0 uas) builds on technology developed, and validated, during the SIM (Space Interferometry Mission) project. The sole science instrument is an optical interferometer with 50-cm…
This work studies microlensing effects in strongly lensed gravitational wave (GW) signals corresponding to global minima images in galaxy-scale lenses. We find that stellar microlenses alone are unable to introduce noticeable wave effects…
We investigate the possibility of identifying massive objects (lenses) in the Galactic Center region (GC) by means of pulsar timing. The well known intensity change due to microlensing is found to be less important. For typical stellar…
Following the selection of The Gravitational Universe by ESA, and the successful flight of LISA Pathfinder, the LISA Consortium now proposes a 4 year mission in response to ESA's call for missions for L3. The observatory will be based on…
I propose a radical revision in the search strategy for Massive Compact Objects (Machos) toward the Galactic bulge: monitor the entire $\sim 300$ square deg of the bulge and tune the search primarily to microlensing events of bright…
Photometric observations of 235 extragalactic objects that are potential targets for the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) are presented. Mean B, V, R, I magnitudes at the 5% level are obtained at 1 - 4 epochs between 2005 and 2007 using…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful probe of cosmology and astrophysics. With the prospect of the first strongly lensed gravitational waves on the horizon, we highlight an opportunity to test fundamental physics. In this work, we assume a…
The past two Decadal Surveys in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommended the completion of a space-based interferometry mission, known today as SIM PlanetQuest, for its unique ability to detect and characterize nearby rocky planets (Bahcall…
SIMP is a proper motion (PM) survey made with the Observatoire du Mont Megantic (OMM) wide-field near-infrared camera CPAPIR at the CTIO 1.5 m and OMM 1.6 m telescopes. The SIMP observations were initiated in early 2005, are still ongoing…
The relative transverse velocity of a lens with respect to the source star in gravitational lensing results in a frequency shift in the light rays passing by a lens. We propose using this relativistic effect for measuring the relative…
Gravitational microlensing is a robust tool to detect and directly measure the abundance and mass of any kind of compact objects, either in our galaxy or in the extragalatic domain. On basis to generic, broadly applicable arguments, it is…