Microlensing events from the 11-year Observations of the Wendelstein Calar Alto Pixellensing Project

Abstract

We present the results of the decade-long M31 observation from the Wendelstein Calar Alto Pixellensing Project (WeCAPP). WeCAPP has monitored M31 from 1997 until 2008 in both R- and I-filters, and thus provides the longest baseline of all M31 microlensing surveys. The data are analyzed with difference imaging analysis, which is most suitable for studying variability in crowded stellar fields. We extracted light curves based on each pixel, and devised selection criteria that are optimized to identify microlensing events. This leads to 10 new events, and adds up to a total of 12 microlensing events from WeCAPP, for which we derive their timescales, flux excesses, and colors from their light curves. The colors of the lensed stars fall in the range (R - I) = 0.56 to 1.36, with a median of 1.0 mag, in agreement with our expectation that the sources are most likely bright, red stars at the post-main-sequence stage. The event FWHM timescales range from 0.5 to 14 days, with a median of 3 days, in good agreement with predictions based on the model of Riffeser et al.