Models of the Night-Sky Brightness and the Efficiency of Searching for Exoplanets with the Microlensing Method

Abstract

We analyze photometric observations of stars, which experienced microlensing events at the considered time, in order to compare the efficiency of detecting exoplanets in observations performed at thirteen different telescopes and with several approaches to the selection of observable events. In constructing an algorithm of the optimal selection of targets for these observations and in comparing the detection efficiencies for several telescopes, we considered models of the night-sky brightness that satisfy the data of infrared observations carried out in 2011 with the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) telescope and the RoboNet telescopes (FTS, FTN, and LT) used to search for planets with the microlensing method. The considered models of the night-sky brightness can be used for various observations (not only microlensing events). The time intervals, during which microlensing events can be observed, were determined with accounting for the positions of the Sun and the Moon and the other constraints on the telescope pointing. Our algorithm allows us to determine the already known microlensing events that are accessible for observation with a particular telescope and to select targets, for which the probability of detecting an exoplanet is maximal. The events, which would maximize the probability of detecting exoplanets, were selected for observations. The probability of detecting an exoplanet is usually proportional to the mirror diameter of a telescope. Telescopes with a wider field of view, such as the OGLE, are more effective in finding new microlensing events. To observe different microlensing events, it is usually better to use different nearby telescopes. However, all such telescopes are often better to use for observing the same event in those relatively short time intervals that correspond to the peak brightness of the event.