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Published March 19, 2019 | Version Submitted
Discussion Paper Open

Measurement of the Free-Floating Planet Mass Function with Simultaneous Euclid and WFIRST Microlensing Parallax Observations

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Abstract

Free-floating planets are the remnants of violent dynamical rearrangements of planetary systems. It is possible that even our own solar system ejected a large planet early in its evolution. WFIRST will have the ability to detect free-floating planets over a wide range of masses, but it will not be able to directly measure their masses. Microlensing parallax observations can be used to measure the masses of isolated objects, including free-floating planets, by observing their microlensing events from two locations. The intra-L2 separation between WFIRST and Euclid is large enough to enable microlensing parallax measurements, especially given the exquisite photometric precision that both spacecraft are capable of over wide fields. In this white paper we describe how a modest investment of observing time could yield hundreds of parallax measurements for WFIRST's bound and free-floating planets. We also describe how a short observing campaign of precursor observations by Euclid can improve WFIRST's bound planet and host star mass measurements.

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Identifiers

Eprint ID
100061
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20191126-094841236

Related works

Describes
http://arxiv.org/abs/1903.08180 (URL)

Dates

Created
2019-11-26
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Updated
2023-06-02
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Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) , Physics Department
Series Name
Astro2020 Science White Paper