Nature’s Dark Lens:

Dual-Point Photometry of a Saturn-Mass Rogue Planet

Project Summary: This project models the KMT-2024-BLG-0792 microlensing event. Using Python, we simulated ground and space-based photometry (Gaia L2) to resolve mass-parallax degeneracy. Results confirm a Saturn-mass free-floating planet (0.22 Mj) through finite-source and space-parallax effects.

Optical Objectives

The primary goal is to treat gravitational fields as transient non-linear lenses. By analyzing the magnification of background stellar light, we can detect non-luminous mass. This study focuses on identifying "Rogue Planets"—isolated planetary-mass objects not bound to any host star.

Signal Modeling

The photonic signal is modeled using the Paczyński equation. We incorporate the Finite-Source Effect, which accounts for the angular size of the source star, resulting in a characteristic "rounded peak" in the light curve.

Methodology: Dual-Point Sensing

We processed photometric data from two distinct spatial coordinates: the Earth and the Gaia satellite (located at the Lagrange Point L2).

# Space Parallax Logic t_E = 0.842 # Days delay = 1.9 / 24 # Gaia lag # Modeling terrestrial shift u_space = sqrt(u0**2 + ((t-t0-delay)/t_E)**2)

This spatial separation acts as a 1.5 million km baseline interferometer, breaking the degeneracy between lens mass and distance.

Photonic Results

The analysis reveals a high-magnification event with a very short timescale, confirming a sub-stellar lens.

Confirmed Mass

~0.22 MJupiter

Saturn-Mass Object

Conclusions

The synergy between terrestrial photonics and space sensors allows the characterization of dark matter candidates with high precision. KMT-2024-BLG-0792 is a milestone in rogue planet detection via space-based parallax.