2024A&A...687A.241H

Aims. We aim to investigate the nature of the short-term anomaly that appears in the lensing light curve of KMT-2023-BLG-1866. The anomaly was only partly covered due to its short duration of less than a day, coupled with cloudy weather conditions and a restricted nighttime duration.
Methods. Considering the intricacy of interpreting partially covered signals, we thoroughly explored all potential degenerate solutions. Through this process, we identified three planetary scenarios that account for the observed anomaly equally well. These scenarios are characterized by the specific planetary parameters: (s, q)_inner = [0.9740 ± 0.0083, (2.46 ± 1.07) × 10^–5], (s, q)_intermediate = [0.9779 ± 0.0017, (1.56 ± 0.25) × 10^–5], and (s, q)_outer = [0.9894 ± 0.0107, (2.31 ± 1.29) × 10^–5], where s and q denote the projected separation (scaled to the Einstein radius) and mass ratio between the planet and its host, respectively. We identify that the ambiguity between the inner and outer solutions stems from the inner-outer degeneracy, while the similarity between the intermediate solution and the others is due to an accidental degeneracy caused by incomplete anomaly coverage.
Results. Through Bayesian analysis utilizing the constraints derived from measured lensing observables and blending flux, our estimation indicates that the lens system comprises a very-low-mass planet orbiting an early M-type star situated approximately (6.2-6.5) kpc from Earth in terms of median posterior values for the different solutions. The median mass of the planet host is in the range of (0.48-0.51) M_⊙, and that of the planet's mass spans a range of (2.6-4.0) M_E, varying across different solutions. The detection of KMT-2023-BLG-1866Lb signifies the extension of the lensing surveys to very-low-mass planets that have been difficult to detect in earlier surveys.