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⇱ One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations | Nature

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Abstract

Most known extrasolar planets (exoplanets) have been discovered using the radial velocity1,2 or transit3 methods. Both are biased towards planets that are relatively close to their parent stars, and studies find that around 17–30% (refs 4, 5) of solar-like stars host a planet. Gravitational microlensing6,7,8,9, on the other hand, probes planets that are further away from their stars. Recently, a population of planets that are unbound or very far from their stars was discovered by microlensing10. These planets are at least as numerous as the stars in the Milky Way10. Here we report a statistical analysis of microlensing data (gathered in 2002–07) that reveals the fraction of bound planets 0.5–10 au (Sun–Earth distance) from their stars. We find that 👁 Image
of stars host Jupiter-mass planets (0.3–10 MJ, where MJ = 318 M⊕ and M⊕ is Earth’s mass). Cool Neptunes (10–30 M⊕) and super-Earths (5–10 M⊕) are even more common: their respective abundances per star are 👁 Image
and 👁 Image
. We conclude that stars are orbited by planets as a rule, rather than the exception.

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Figure 1: Survey-sensitivity diagram.
Figure 2: Cool-planet mass function.

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Acknowledgements

Support for the PLANET project was provided by the HOLMES grant from the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), NASA, the US National Science Foundation, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/National Nuclear Security Administration/Department of Energy, the French National Programme of Planetology, the Program of International Cooperation in Science France–Australia, D. Warren, the German Research Foundation, the Instrument Center for Danish Astronomy and the Danish Natural Science Research Council. The OGLE collaboration is grateful for funding from the European Research Council Advanced Grants Program. K.Ho. acknowledges support from the Qatar National Research Fund. M.D. is a Royal Society University Research Fellow.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Probing Lensing Anomalies Network (PLANET) Collaboration, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, UMR7095 UPMC–CNRS 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France,

    A. Cassan, D. Kubas, J.-P. Beaulieu, M. Dominik, K. Horne, J. Greenhill, J. Wambsganss, J. Menzies, A. Williams, U. G. Jørgensen, D. P. Bennett, M. D. Albrow, V. Batista, S. Brillant, J. A. R. Caldwell, A. Cole, Ch. Coutures, K. H. Cook, S. Dieters, D. Dominis Prester, J. Donatowicz, P. Fouqué, K. Hill, N. Kains, S. Kane, J.-B. Marquette, R. Martin, K. R. Pollard, K. C. Sahu, C. Vinter, D. Warren, B. Watson & M. Zub

  2. Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, UMR7095 UPMC–CNRS 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France,

    A. Cassan, D. Kubas, J.-P. Beaulieu, V. Batista, Ch. Coutures & J.-B. Marquette

  3. Astronomischen Rechen-Instituts (ARI), Zentrum für Astronomie, Heidelberg University, Mönchhofstrasse 12–14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany,

    A. Cassan, J. Wambsganss & M. Zub

  4. European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordoba 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago, Chile,

    D. Kubas & S. Brillant

  5. Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA), University of St Andrews, School of Physics & Astronomy, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK,

    M. Dominik & K. Horne

  6. University of Tasmania, School of Maths and Physics, Private bag 37, GPO Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia,

    J. Greenhill, A. Cole, S. Dieters, K. Hill, D. Warren & B. Watson

  7. South African Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 9 Observatory 7935, South Africa,

    J. Menzies

  8. Perth Observatory, Walnut Road, Bickley, Perth 6076, Australia,

    A. Williams & R. Martin

  9. Niels Bohr Institute and Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Juliane Mariesvej 30, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark,

    U. G. Jørgensen & C. Vinter

  10. Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) Collaboration, Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland,

    A. Udalski, M. K. Szymański, M. Kubiak, R. Poleski, I. Soszynski, K. Ulaczyk, G. Pietrzyński & Ł. Wyrzykowski

  11. Warsaw University Observatory, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland,

    A. Udalski, M. K. Szymański, M. Kubiak, R. Poleski, I. Soszynski, K. Ulaczyk, G. Pietrzyński & Ł. Wyrzykowski

  12. Physics Department, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46530, USA,

    D. P. Bennett

  13. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand,

    M. D. Albrow & K. R. Pollard

  14. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, 21218, Maryland, USA

    J. A. R. Caldwell & K. C. Sahu

  15. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, PO Box 808, California 94550, USA,

    K. H. Cook

  16. Department of Physics, University of Rijeka, Omladinska 14, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia,

    D. Dominis Prester

  17. Department of Computing, Technical University of Vienna, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 10, 1040 Vienna, Austria,

    J. Donatowicz

  18. Laboratoire Astrophysique de Toulouse (LATT), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31400 Toulouse, France,

    P. Fouqué

  19. European Southern Observatory Headquarters, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, 85748 Garching, Germany,

    N. Kains

  20. NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, Caltech, MS 100-22, 770 South Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, California 91125, USA,

    S. Kane

  21. Department of Earth and Space Science, Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) Collaboration, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043, Japan

    T. Sumi

  22. Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-0043, Japan

    T. Sumi

  23. Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile,

    G. Pietrzyński

  24. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK,

    Ł. Wyrzykowski

  25. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK,

    J.-P. Beaulieu

Authors
  1. A. Cassan
  2. D. Kubas
  3. J.-P. Beaulieu
  4. M. Dominik
  5. K. Horne
  6. J. Greenhill
  7. J. Wambsganss
  8. J. Menzies
  9. A. Williams
  10. U. G. Jørgensen
  11. A. Udalski
  12. D. P. Bennett
  13. M. D. Albrow
  14. V. Batista
  15. S. Brillant
  16. J. A. R. Caldwell
  17. A. Cole
  18. Ch. Coutures
  19. K. H. Cook
  20. S. Dieters
  21. D. Dominis Prester
  22. J. Donatowicz
  23. P. Fouqué
  24. K. Hill
  25. N. Kains
  26. S. Kane
  27. J.-B. Marquette
  28. R. Martin
  29. K. R. Pollard
  30. K. C. Sahu
  31. C. Vinter
  32. D. Warren
  33. B. Watson
  34. M. Zub
  35. T. Sumi
  36. M. K. Szymański
  37. M. Kubiak
  38. R. Poleski
  39. I. Soszynski
  40. K. Ulaczyk
  41. G. Pietrzyński
  42. Ł. Wyrzykowski

Contributions

A.Ca. led the analysis and conducted the modelling and statistical analyses. A.Ca. and D.K. selected light curves from 2002–07 PLANET/OGLE microlensing seasons, analysed the data and wrote the Letter and Supplement. D.K. computed the magnification maps used for the detection-efficiency calculations. J.-P.B. and Ch.C. wrote the software for online data reduction at the telescopes. J.-P.B. led the PLANET collaboration, with M.D., J.G., J.M. and A.W.; P.F. and M.D.A. contributed to online and offline data reduction. M.D. contributed to the conversion of the detection efficiencies to physical parameter space and developed the PLANET real-time display system with A.W., M.D.A. and Ch.C.; K.Ho. and A.Ca. developed and tested the Bayesian formulation for fitting the two-parameter power-law mass function. J.G. edited the manuscript, conducted the main data cleaning and managed telescope operations at Mount Canopus (1 m) in Hobart. J.W. wrote the original magnification maps software, discussed the main implications and edited the manuscript. J.M., A.W. and U.G.J. respectively managed telescope operations in South Africa (South African Astronomical Observatory 1 m), Australia (Perth 0.61 m) and La Silla (Danish 1.54 m). A.U. led the OGLE campaign and provided the final OGLE photometry. D.P.B, V.B., S.B., J.A.R.C., A.Co., K.H.C., S.D., D.D.P., J.D., P.F., K.Hi., N.K., S.K., J.-B.M., R.M., K.R.P., K.C.S., C.V., D.W., B.W. and M.Z. were involved in the PLANET observing strategy and/or PLANET data acquisition, reduction, real-time analysis and/or commented on the manuscript. T.S. commented on the manuscript. M.K.S., M.K., R.P., I.S., K.U., G.P. and Ł.W. contributed to OGLE data.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to A. Cassan or A. Cole.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

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The file contains Supplementary Text and Data, Supplementary Figures 1-5 with legends, Supplementary Table 1 and additional references. (PDF 692 kb)

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Cassan, A., Kubas, D., Beaulieu, JP. et al. One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations. Nature 481, 167–169 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10684

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