Possible Gravitational Microlensing Of A Star In The Large Magellanic Cloud
dc.contributor.author | Alcock, C. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Akerlof, Carl W. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Allsman, R. A. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Axelrod, T. S. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Bennett, D. P. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Chan, S. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Cook, K. H. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Freeman, Kenneth C. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Griest, K. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Marshall, Stuart L. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Park, H. S. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Perlmutter, S. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Peterson, B. A. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Pratt, M. R. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Quinn, P. J. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Rodgers, A. W. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Stubbs, C. W. | en_US |
dc.contributor.author | Sutherland, W. | en_US |
dc.date.accessioned | 2009-06-01T17:34:36Z | |
dc.date.available | 2009-06-01T17:34:36Z | |
dc.date.issued | 1993-10-14 | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Alcock, C; Akerlof, CW; Allsman, RA; Axelrod, TS; Bennett, DP; Chan, S; Cook, KH; Freeman, KC; Griest, K; Marshall, SL; Park, HS; Perlmutter, S; Peterson, BA; Pratt, MR; Quinn, PJ; Rodgers, AW; Stubbs, CW; Sutherland, W. (1993) "Possible Gravitational Microlensing Of A Star In The Large Magellanic Cloud." Nature 365(6447): 621-623. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/62738> | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0028-0836 | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/62738 | |
dc.description.abstract | THERE is now abundant evidence for the presence of large quantities of unseen matter surrounding normal galaxies, including our own1,2. The nature of this 'dark matter' is unknown, except that it cannot be made of normal stars, dust or gas, as they would be easily detected. Exotic particles such as axions, massive neutrinos or other weakly interacting massive particles (collectively known as WIMPs) have been proposed3,4, but have yet to be detected. A less exotic alternative is normal matter in the form of bodies with masses ranging from that of a large planet to a few solar masses. Such objects, known collectively as massive compact halo objects5 (MACHOs), might be brown dwarfs or 'jupiters' (bodies too small to produce their own energy by fusion), neutron stars, old white dwarfs or black holes. Paczynski6 suggested that MACHOs might act as gravitational microlenses, temporarily amplifying the apparent brightness of background stars in nearby galaxies. We are conducting a microlensing experiment to determine whether the dark matter halo of our Galaxy is made up of MACHOs. Here we report a candidate for such a microlensing event, detected by monitoring the light curves of 1.8 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud for one year. The light curve shows no variation for most of the year of data taking, and an upward excursion lasting over 1 month, with a maximum increase of approximately 2 mag. The most probable lens mass, inferred from the duration of the candidate lensing event, is approximately 0.1 solar mass. | en_US |
dc.format.extent | 419982 bytes | |
dc.format.extent | 2489 bytes | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/octet-stream | |
dc.format.mimetype | text/plain | |
dc.publisher | Macmillan Magazines Ltd. | en_US |
dc.source | Nature | en_US |
dc.title | Possible Gravitational Microlensing Of A Star In The Large Magellanic Cloud | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.subject.hlbtoplevel | Science | en_US |
dc.description.peerreviewed | Peer Reviewed | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationum | UNIV MICHIGAN,DEPT PHYS,ANN ARBOR,MI 48109 | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | UNIV CALIF BERKELEY,CTR PARTICLE ASTROPHYS,BERKELEY,CA 94720 | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | AUSTRALIAN NATL UNIV,MT STROMLO & SIDING SPRING OBSERV,WESTON,ACT 2611,AUSTRALIA | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | UNIV CALIF SANTA BARBARA,DEPT PHYS,SANTA BARBARA,CA 93106 | en_US |
dc.contributor.affiliationother | UNIV CALIF SAN DIEGO,DEPT PHYS,LA JOLLA,CA 92093 | en_US |
dc.description.bitstreamurl | http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62738/1/365621a0.pdf | |
dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/365621a0 | en_US |
dc.identifier.source | Nature | en_US |
dc.owningcollname | Interdisciplinary and Peer-Reviewed |
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