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ABSTRACT We report the complete statistical planetary sample from the prime fields (Γ ≥ 2 h−1) of the 2019 Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) microlensing survey. We develop the optimized KMTNet AnomalyFinder algorithm and apply it to the 2019 KMTNet prime fields. We find a total of 13 homogeneously selected planets and report the analysis of three planetary events, KMT-2019-BLG-(1042,1552,2974). The planet–host mass ratios, q, for the three planetary events are 6.34 × 10−4, 4.89 × 10−3, and 6.18 × 10−4, respectively. A Bayesian analysis indicates the three planets are all cold giant planets beyond the snow line of their host stars. The 13 planets are basically uniform in log q over the range −5.0 < log q < −1.5. This result suggests that the planets below qbreak = 1.7 × 10−4 proposed by the MOA-II survey may be more common than previously believed. This work is an early component of a large project to determine the KMTNet mass-ratio function, and the whole sample of 2016–2019 KMTNet events should contain about 120 planets.

Aims. We reexamine high-magnification microlensing events in the previous data collected by the KMTNet survey with the aim of finding planetary signals that were not noticed before. In this work, we report the planetary system KMT-2018-BLG-1988L, which was found from this investigation. Methods. The planetary signal appears as a deviation with ≲0.2 mag from a single-lens light curve and lasted for about 6 h. The deviation exhibits a pattern of a dip surrounded by weak bumps on both sides of the dip. The analysis of the lensing light curve indicates that the signal is produced by a low-mass-ratio ( q ~ 4 × 10 −5 ) planetary companion located near the Einstein ring of the host star. Results. The mass of the planet, M planet  = 6.8 −3.5 +4.7  M ⊕ and 5.6 −2.8 +3.8  M ⊕ for the two possible solutions, estimated from the Bayesian analysis indicates that the planet is in the regime of a super-Earth. The host of the planet is a disk star with a mass of M host  = 0.47 −0.25 +0.33  M ⊙ and a distance of D L  = 4.2 −.14 +1.8 kpc. KMT-2018-BLG-1988Lb is the 18th known microlensing planet with a mass below the uppermore »limit of a super-Earth. The fact that 15 out of the 18 known microlensing planets with masses ≲10  M ⊕ were detected in the 5 yr following the full operation of the KMTNet survey indicates that the KMTNet database is an important reservoir of very low-mass planets.« less

Aims. With the aim of interpreting anomalous lensing events with no suggested models, we conducted a project of reinvestigating microlensing data collected in and before the 2019 season. In this work, we report a multi-planet system, OGLE-2019-BLG-0468L, that was found as a result of this project. Methods. The light curve of the lensing event OGLE-2019-BLG-0468, which consists of three distinctive anomaly features, could not be explained by the usual binary-lens or binary-source interpretations. We find a solution that explains all anomaly features with a triple-lens interpretation, in which the lens is composed of two planets and their host, making the lens the fourth multi-planet system securely found by microlensing. Results. The two planets have masses of ~3.4  M J and ~10.2  M J , and they are orbiting around a G-type star with a mass of ~0.9  M ⊙ and a distance of ~4.4 kpc. The host of the planets is most likely responsible for the light of the baseline object, although the possibility of the host being a companion to the baseline object cannot be ruled out.

We complete the analysis of all 2018 prime-field microlensing planets identified by the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) Anomaly Finder. Among the ten previously unpublished events with clear planetary solutions, eight are either unambiguously planetary or are very likely to be planetary in nature: OGLE-2018-BLG-1126, KMT-2018-BLG-2004, OGLE-2018-BLG-1647, OGLE-2018-BLG-1367, OGLE-2018-BLG-1544, OGLE-2018-BLG-0932, OGLE-2018-BLG-1212, and KMT-2018-BLG-2718. Combined with the four previously published new Anomaly Finder events and 12 previously published (or in preparation) planets that were discovered by eye, this makes a total of 24 2018 prime-field planets discovered or recovered by Anomaly Finder. Together with a paper in preparation on 2018 subprime planets, this work lays the basis for the first statistical analysis of the planet mass-ratio function based on planets identified in KMTNet data. By systematically applying the heuristic analysis to each event, we identified the small modification in their formalism that is needed to unify the so-called close-wide and inner-outer degeneracies.

Aims. We conducted a project of reinvestigating the 2017–2019 microlensing data collected by high-cadence surveys with the aim of finding planets that were missed due to the deviations of planetary signals from the typical form of short-term anomalies. Methods. The project led us to find three planets, KMT-2017-BLG-2509Lb, OGLE-2017-BLG-1099Lb, and OGLE-2019-BLG-0299Lb. The lensing light curves of the events have a common characteristic: the planetary signals were produced by the crossings of faint source stars over the resonant caustics formed by giant planets located near the Einstein rings of host stars. Results. For all planetary events, the lensing solutions are uniquely determined without any degeneracy. It is estimated that the host masses are in the range of 0.45 ≲ M ∕ M ⊙ ≲ 0.59, which corresponds to early M to late K dwarfs, and thus the host stars are less massive than the Sun. On the other hand, the planets, with masses in the range of 2.1 ≲ M ∕ M J ≲ 6.2, are heavier than the heaviest planet of the Solar System, that is, Jupiter. The planets in all systems lie beyond the snow lines of the hosts, and thus the discovered planetary systems, together with many othermore »microlensing planetary systems, support the idea that massive gas-giant planets are commonplace around low-mass stars. We discuss the role of late-time high-resolution imaging in clarifying resonant-image lenses with very faint sources.« less

Follow-up observations of high-magnification gravitational microlensing events can fully exploit their intrinsic sensitivity to detect extrasolar planets, especially those with small mass ratios. To make followup observations more uniform and efficient, we develop a system, HighMagFinder, to automatically alert possible ongoing high-magnification events based on the real-time data from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). We started a new phase of follow-up observations with the help of HighMagFinder in 2021. Here we report the discovery of two planets in high-magnification microlensing events, KMT-2021-BLG-0171 and KMT-2021-BLG-1689, which were identified by the HighMagFinder. We find that both events suffer the ‘central-resonant’ caustic degeneracy. The planet-host mass-ratio is q ∼ 4.7 × 10−5 or q ∼ 2.2 × 10−5 for KMT-2021-BLG-0171, and q ∼ 2.5 × 10−4 or q ∼ 1.8 × 10−4 for KMT-2021-BLG-1689. Together with two other events, four cases that suffer such degeneracy have been discovered in the 2021 season alone, indicating that the degenerate solutions may have been missed in some previous studies. We also propose a quantitative factor to weight the probability of each solution from the phase space. The resonant interpretations for the two events are disfavoured under this consideration. This factor can be included in future statistical studies to weight degenerate solutions.

ABSTRACT Only a few wide-orbit planets around old stars have been detected, which limits our statistical understanding of this planet population. Following the systematic search for planetary anomalies in microlensing events found by the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network, we present the discovery and analysis of three events that were initially thought to contain wide-orbit planets. The anomalous feature in the light curve of OGLE-2018-BLG-0383 is caused by a planet with mass ratio q = 2.1 × 10−4 and a projected separation s = 2.45. This makes it the lowest mass-ratio microlensing planet at such wide orbits. The other two events, KMT-2018-BLG-0998 and OGLE-2018-BLG-0271, are shown to be stellar binaries (q > 0.1) with rather close (s < 1) separations. We briefly discuss the properties of known wide-orbit microlensing planets and show that the survey observations are crucial in discovering and further statistically constraining such a planet population.

Aims. We investigate the microlensing event KMT-2021-BLG-0322, for which the light curve exhibits three distinctive sets of caustic-crossing features. It is found that the overall features of the light curve are approximately described by a binary-lens (2L1S) model, but the model leaves substantial residuals. We test various interpretations with the aim of explaining the residuals. Methods. We find that the residuals can be explained either by considering a nonrectilinear lens-source motion caused by the microlens-parallax and lens-orbital effects or by adding a low-mass companion to the binary lens (3L1S model). The degeneracy between the higher-order 2L1S model and the 3L1S model is very severe, making it difficult to single out a correct solution based on the photometric data. This degeneracy was known before for two previous events (MACHO-97-BLG-41 and OGLE-2013-BLG-0723), which led to the false detections of planets in binary systems, and thus the identification of the degeneracy for KMT-2021-BLG-0322 illustrates that the degeneracy can be not only common but also very severe, emphasizing the need to check both interpretations of deviations from 2L1S models. Results. From the Bayesian analysis conducted with the measured lensing observables of the event timescale, angular Einstein radius, and microlens parallax, it was estimated thatmore »the binary lens components have masses ( M 1 , M 2 ) = (0.62 −0.26 +0.25   M ⊙ , 0.07 −0.03 +0.03   M ⊙ ), for both 2L1S and 3L1S solutions, and the mass of the tertiary lens component according to the 3L1S solution is M 3  = 6.40 −2.78 +2.64   M J .« less