* Astronomy

Title: MOA-2010-BLG-523: "Failed Planet" = RS CVn Star
Authors: A. Gould (OSU), J.C. Yee (OSU), I.A. Bond (Massey U.), A. Udalski (Warsaw Obs.), C. Han (Chungbuk Nat. U.), U.G. Jorgensen (Niels Bohr Inst.), J. Greenhill (U. of Tasmania), Y. Tsapras (LCOGT), M.H. Pinsonneault (OSU), T. Bensby (Lund Obs.), the uFUN, MOA, OGLE, MiNDSTEp, RoboNet, PLANET collaborations

The Galactic bulge source MOA-2010-BLG-523S exhibited short-term deviations from a standard microlensing lightcurve near the peak of an Amax ~ 265 high-magnification microlensing event. The deviations originally seemed consistent with expectations for a planetary companion to the principal lens. We combine long-term photometric monitoring with a previously published high-resolution spectrum taken near peak to demonstrate that this is an RS CVn variable, so that planetary microlensing is not required to explain the lightcurve deviations. This is the first spectroscopically confirmed RS CVn star discovered in the Galactic bulge.

Read more (143kb, PDF)