Making Microlensing Predictions With a New Population Synthesis Galactic Model
Loading...
Date
2018-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
With the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) in preparation, it is important to have a method of interpreting existing microlensing data and for making predictions for future surveys. Limited by the lack of flexibility and other needed features when using existing models, we created a new, more flexible population synthesis model of the Milky Way. We describe the model's Monte Carlo method for generating catalogs of stars likely to reside in a specific region of the sky and the different Galactic components that come together to achieve this. We compare model output to real data and perform a study of microlensing observables near the Galactic Center. The results highlight areas where disk stars play an important role in microlensing statistics, opposed to the typical assumption in lower latitude surveys that bulge stars dominate, and how disk stars may wipe out the asymmetry of the bulge in microlensing observations.
Description
Keywords
galactic modelling, gravitational microlensing, milky way, exoplanets