MOA-2015-BLG-337: A Planetary System with a Low-mass Brown Dwarf/Planetary Boundary Host, or a Brown Dwarf Binary

Abstract

We report on the discovery and analysis of the short-timescale binary-lens microlensing event, MOA-2015-BLG-337. The lens system could be a planetary system with a very low-mass host, around the brown dwarf (BD)/planetary-mass boundary, or a BD binary. We found two competing models that explain the observed light curves with companion/host mass ratios of q  ∼ 0.01 and ∼0.17, respectively. A significant finite source effect in the best-fit planetary model ( q ∼ 0.01) reveals a small angular Einstein radius of θ E  ≃ 0.03 mas, which favors a low-mass lens. We obtain the posterior probability distribution of the lens properties from a Bayesian analysis. The results for the planetary models strongly depend on a power-law index in planetary-mass regime, α pl , in the assumed mass function. In summary, there are two solutions of the lens system: (1) a BD/planetary-mass boundary object orbited by a super-Neptune (the planetary model with α pl = 0.49) and (2) a BD binary (the binary model). If the planetary models are correct, this system can be one of a new class of planetary system, having a low host mass and also a planetary-mass ratio ( q < 0.03) between the companion and its host. The discovery of the event is important for the study of planetary formation in very low-mass objects. In addition, it is important to consider all viable solutions in these kinds of ambiguous events in order for the future comprehensive statistical analyses of planetary/binary microlensing events.