Network


Latest external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.

Hotspot


Dive into the research topics where S. Kane is active.

Publication


Featured researches published by S. Kane.


The Astrophysical Journal | 2000

Detection of rotation in a binary microlens : PLANET photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-41

M. D. Albrow; J. P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams; Howard E. Bond; Im van Bemmel

We analyze PLANET collaboration data for MACHO 97-BLG-41, the only microlensing event observed to date in which the source transits two disjoint caustics. The PLANET data, consisting of 46 V -band and 325 I-band observations from —ve southern observatories, span a period from the initial alert until the end of the event. Our data are incompatible with a static binary lens, but are well —tted by a rotating binary lens of mass ratio q \ 0.34 and angular separation d B 0.5 (in units of the Einstein ring radius), in which the binary separation changes in size by dd \( 0.070 ^ 0.009 and in orientation by during the 35.17 days between the separate caustic transits. We use this measurement, dh \ 5i.61^ 0i.36 combined with other observational constraints, to derive the —rst kinematic estimate of the mass, dis- tance, and period of a binary microlens. The relative probability distributions for these parameters peak at a total lens mass M D 0.3 (M-dwarf binary system), lens distance kpc, and binary period M _ D L D 5.5 P D 1.5 yr. The robustness of our model is demonstrated by its striking agreement with MACHO/ GMAN data that cover several sharp features in the light curve not probed by the PLANET obser- vations, and which did not enter our modeling procedure in any way. Available data sets thus indicate that the light curve of MACHO 97-BLG-41 can be modeled as a source crossing two caustics of a physi- cally realistic rotating binary. Thus, contrary to a recent suggestion, the additional eUects of a postulated planetary companion to the binary lens are not required. Subject headings: binaries: generalgravitational lensingplanetary systems


The Astrophysical Journal | 1998

The 1995 pilot campaign of planet: Searching for microlensing anomalies through precise, rapid, round-the-clock monitoring

M. D. Albrow; J.-P. Beaulieu; Peter V. Birch; J. A. R. Caldwell; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; Jw Pel; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; A. Williams; Martin Alexander Zwaan

PLANET (the Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork) is a worldwide collaboration of astronomers whose primary goal is to monitor microlensing events densely and precisely in order to detect and study anomalies that contain information about Galactic lenses and sources that would otherwise be unobtainable. The results of PLANETs highly successful first year of operation are presented here. Details of the observational setup, observing procedures, and data-reduction procedures used to track the progress in real time at the three participating observing sites in 1995 are discussed. The ability to follow several events simultaneously with a median sampling interval of 1.6 hr and a photometric precision of better than 0.10 mag even at I = 19 has been clearly demonstrated. During PLANETs 1995 pilot campaign, ten microlensing events were monitored, resulting in the most precise and densely-sampled light curves to date; the binary nature of one of these, MACHO 95-BLG-12, was recognized by PLANET on the mountain. Another event, OGLE 95-BLG-04, displayed chromaticity that may betray the presence of blending with unresolved stars projected onto the same resolution element. Although lasting only about a month, the campaign may allow constraints to be placed on the number of planets with mass ratios to the parent star of 0.01 or greater.


The Astrophysical Journal | 1999

Limb Darkening of a K Giant in the Galactic Bulge: PLANET Photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-28

M. D. Albrow; J.-P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; M. Dominik; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; Jw Pel; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams; Meena S. Sahu

We present the PLANET photometric data set10 for the binary-lens microlensing event MACHO 97- BLG-28, consisting of 696 I- and V -band measurements, and analyze it to determine the radial surface brightness pro—le of the Galactic bulge source star. The microlensed source, demonstrated to be a K giant by our independent spectroscopy, crossed an isolated cusp of the central caustic of the lensing binary, generating a sharp peak in the light curve that was well-resolved by dense (3¨30 minute) and continuous monitoring from PLANET sites in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. This is the —rst time that such a cusp crossing has been observed. Analysis of the PLANET data set has produced a measure- ment of the square-root limb-darkening coefficients of the source star in the I and V bands; the resulting stellar pro—les are in excellent agreement with those predicted by stellar atmospheric models for K giants. The limb-darkening coefficients presented here are the —rst derived from microlensing. They are also among the —rst found for normal giants by any technique and the —rst for any star as distant as the Galactic bulge. Modeling of our light curve for MACHO 97-BLG-28 indicates that the lensing binary has a mass ratio q \ 0.23 and an (instantaneous) separation in units of the angular Einstein ring radius of d \ 0.69. For a lens in the Galactic bulge, this corresponds to a typical stellar binary with a projected separation between 1 and 2 AU. If the lens lies closer (i.e., in the Galactic disk), the separation is smaller, and one or both of the lens objects is in the brown dwarf regime. Assuming that the source is a bulge K2 giant at 8 kpc, the relative lens-source proper motion is k \ 19.4 ^ 2.6 km s~1 kpc~1, consistent with a disk or bulge lens. If the nonlensed blended light is due to a single star, it is likely to be a young white dwarf in the bulge, consistent with the blended light coming from the lens itself. Subject headings: binaries: visualgravitational lensingstars: fundamental parameters ¨ stars: late-type


The Astrophysical Journal | 1999

A Complete Set of Solutions for Caustic Crossing Binary Microlensing Events

M. D. Albrow; J.-P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; D. L. DePoy; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; Richard W. Pogge; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams

We present a method to analyze binary lens microlensing light curves with one well-sampled fold caustic crossing. In general, the surface of s2 shows extremely complicated behavior over the nine- parameter space that characterizes binary lenses. This makes it difficult to systematically search the space and verify that a given local minimum is a global minimum. We show that for events with well- monitored caustics, the caustic crossing region can be isolated from the rest of the light curve and easily —tted to a —ve-parameter function. Four of these caustic crossing parameters can then be used to con- strain the search in the larger nine-parameter space. This allows a systematic search for all solutions and thus identi—cation of all local minima. We illustrate this technique using the PLANET data for MACHO 98-SMC-1, an excellent and publicly available caustic crossing data set. We show that a very broad range of parameter combinations are compatible with the PLANET data set, demonstrating that observations of binary lens light curves with a sampling of only one caustic crossing do not yield unique solutions. The corollary to this is that the time of the second caustic crossing cannot be reliably predict- ed on the basis of early data including the —rst caustic crossing alone. We investigate the requirements for determination of a unique solution and —nd that occasional observations of the —rst caustic crossing may be sufficient to derive a complete solution. Subject headings: astrometrydark mattergravitational lensing


The Astrophysical Journal | 2001

PLANET Observations of Microlensing Event OGLE-1999-BUL-23: Limb-darkening Measurement of the Source Star

Albrow; J. An; J. P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; Dl DePoy; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; Richard W. Pogge; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams

We present PLANET observations of OGLE-1999-BUL-23, a binary-lens microlensing event toward the Galactic bulge. PLANET observations in the I and V bands cover the event from just before the first caustic crossing until the end of the event. In particular, a densely sampled second caustic crossing enables us to derive the linear limb-darkening coefficients of the source star : and c(V) = 0.786(-0.078)(+0.080) c(I) = 0.632(-0.037)(+0.047). Combined analysis of the light curve and the color-magnitude diagram suggests that the source star is a G/K subgiant in the Galactic bulge (T-eff similar or equal to 4800 K). The resulting linear limb-darkening coefficient of the source is consistent with theoretical predictions, although it is likely that nonlinearity of the stellar surface brightness profile complicates the interpretation, especially for the I band. The global light curve fit to the data indicates that the event is due to a binary lens of a mass ratio q similar or equal to 0.39 and a projected separation d similar or equal to 2.42. The lens/source relative proper motion is (22.8 +/- 1.5) km s(-1) kpc(-1), typical of bulge/bulge or bulge/disk events.


The Astrophysical Journal | 1999

The relative lens-source proper motion in MACHO 98-SMC-1

M. D. Albrow; J.-P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; D. L. DePoy; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams; Richard W. Pogge

We present photometric and spectroscopic data for the second microlensing event seen toward the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), MACHO 98-SMC-1. The lens is a binary. We resolve the caustic crossing and find that the source took 2 Δt=8.5 hr to transit the caustic. We measure the source temperature Teff=8000 K both spectroscopically and from the color, (V-I)0~0.22. We find two acceptable binary-lens models. In the first, the source crosses the caustic at =432 and the unmagnified source magnitude is Is=22.15. The angle implies that the lens crosses the source radius in time t*=Δt=2.92 hr. The magnitude (together with the temperature) implies that the angular radius of the source is θ*=0.089 μas. Hence, the proper motion is μ=θ*/t*=1.26 km s-1 kpc-1. For the second solution, the corresponding parameters are =306, Is=21.81, t*=2.15 hr, θ*=0.104 μas, and μ=θ*/t*=2.00 km s-1 kpc-1. Both proper-motion estimates are slower than 99.5% of the proper motions expected for halo lenses. Both are consistent with an ordinary binary lens moving at ~75-120 km s-1 within the SMC itself. We conclude that the lens is most likely in the SMC proper.


The Astrophysical Journal | 2001

Limits on the Abundance of Galactic Planets From 5 Years of PLANET Observations

Albrow; J. An; J. P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; D. L. DePoy; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; Jw Pel; Richard W. Pogge; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; Paul M. Vreeswijk; R. Watson; A. Williams

We search for signatures of planets in 43 intensively monitored microlensing events that were observed between 1995 and 1999. Planets would be expected to cause a short-duration (∼1 day) deviation on the smooth, symmetric light curve produced by a single lens. We find no such anomalies and infer that less than one-third of the ∼0.3 stars that typically comprise the lens population have Jupiter mass companions with semimajor axes in M, the range of . Since orbital periods of planets at these radii are 3–15 yr, the outer portion of 1.5 AU ! a ! 4A U this region is currently difficult to probe with any other technique. Subject headings: gravitational lensing — planetary systems — stars: late-type — stars: low-mass, brown dwarfs — techniques: photometric On-line material: color figure


The Astrophysical Journal | 2000

Discovery of the optical counterpart and early optical observations of GRB 990712

Kailash C. Sahu; Paul M. Vreeswijk; G. Á. Bakos; J. Menzies; A. Bragaglia; F. Frontera; L. Piro; M. D. Albrow; I. A. Bond; Richard G. Bower; J. A. R. Caldwell; A. J. Castro-Tirado; F. Courbin; M. Dominik; J. P. U. Fynbo; Titus J. Galama; Karl Glazebrook; J. Greenhill; J. Gorosabel; J. B. Hearnshaw; K. Hill; J. Hjorth; S. Kane; P. M. Kilmartin; C. Kouveliotou; R. Martin; N. Masetti; P. F. L. Maxted; D. Minniti; P. Møller

We present the discovery observations of the optical counterpart of the gamma-ray burst GRB 990712 taken 4.16 hr after the outburst and discuss its light curve observed in the V, R, and I bands during the first ~35 days after the outburst. The observed light curves were fitted with a power-law decay for the optical transient (OT), plus an additional component that was treated in two different ways. First, the additional component was assumed to be an underlying galaxy of constant brightness. The resulting slope of the decay is 0.97, and the magnitudes of the underlying galaxy are V = 22.3 ± 0.05, R = 21.75 ± 0.05, and I = 21.35 ± 0.05. Second, the additional component was assumed to be a galaxy plus an underlying supernova with a time-variable brightness identical to that of GRB 980425, appropriately scaled to the redshift of GRB 990712. The resulting slope of the decay is similar, but the goodness of fit is worse, which would imply that either this GRB is not associated with an underlying supernova or the underlying supernova is much fainter than the supernova associated with GRB 980425. The galaxy in this case is fainter: V = 22.7 ± 0.05, R = 22.25 ± 0.05, and I = 22.15 ± 0.05, and the OT plus the underlying supernova at a given time is brighter. Measurements of the brightnesses of the OT and the galaxy by late-time Hubble Space Telescope observation and ground-based observations can thus assess the presence of an underlying supernova.


The Astrophysical Journal | 2000

Limits on Stellar and Planetary Companions in Microlensing Event OGLE-1998-BUL-14

M. D. Albrow; J. P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; D. L. DePoy; M. Dominik; B. S. Gaudi; A. Gould; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; R. M. Naber; Richard W. Pogge; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams

We present the PLANET photometric data set for OGLE-1998-BUL-14, a high-magnification (A(max) similar to 16) event alerted by the OGLE collaboration toward the Galactic bulge in 1998. The PLANET data set consists a total of 461 I-band and 139 V-band points, the majority of which was taken over a 3 month period. The median sampling interval during this period is about 1 hr,and the I sigma scatter over the peak of the event is 1.5%. The excellent data quality and high maximum magnification of this event make it a prime candidate to search for the short-duration, low-amplitude perturbations that are signatures of a planetary companion orbiting the primary lens. The observed light curve for OGLE-1998-BUL-14 is consistent with a single lens (no companion) within photometric uncertainties. We calculate the detection efficiency of the light curve to lensing companions as a function of the mass ratio and angular separation of the two components. We find that companions of mass ratio greater than or equal to 0.01 are ruled out at the 95% significance level for projected separations between 0.4 and 2.4r(E), where r(E) is the Einstein ring radius of the primary lens. Assuming that the primary is a G dwarf with r(E) similar to 3 AU, our detection efficiency for this event is similar to 60% for a companion with the mass and separation of Jupiter and similar to 5% for a companion with the mass and separation of Saturn. Our efficiencies for planets like those around nu And and 14 Her are >75%.


The Astrophysical Journal | 2001

H alpha equivalent width variations across the face of a microlensed K giant in the galactic bulge

M. D. Albrow; J. P. Beaulieu; J. A. R. Caldwell; M. Dominik; J. Greenhill; K. Hill; S. Kane; R. Martin; J. Menzies; K. R. Pollard; Penny D. Sackett; Kailash C. Sahu; P. Vermaak; R. Watson; A. Williams; Peter H. Hauschildt

We present Very Large Telescope FORS1 spectroscopy that temporally resolves the second caustic crossing of the Galactic bulge K giant source of microlensing event EROS 2000-BLG-5, the first time this has been accomplished for several phases of a caustic transit. The similar to1 Angstrom H alpha equivalent width of the source star increases slightly as the center of the star egresses the caustic and then plummets by 30% during the final limb crossing. These changes are not seen in contemporaneous spectra of control stars in the FORS1 slit but are qualitatively consistent with expectations from stellar atmosphere models as the caustic differentially magnifies different portions of the stellar face of the target. Observations such as these in a variety of stellar lines are equivalent to atmospheric tomography and are expected to provide a direct test of stellar models.

Collaboration


Dive into the S. Kane's collaboration.

Top Co-Authors

Avatar

J. Menzies

University of Canterbury

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

Kailash C. Sahu

Space Telescope Science Institute

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

K. R. Pollard

University of Canterbury

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

J. A. R. Caldwell

Space Telescope Science Institute

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

Penny D. Sackett

Australian National University

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

M. D. Albrow

University of Canterbury

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

K. Hill

University of Tasmania

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

M. Dominik

University of St Andrews

View shared research outputs
Top Co-Authors

Avatar

R. Watson

University of Tasmania

View shared research outputs
Researchain Logo
Decentralizing Knowledge