MOA-2020-BLG-135: A Planetary Microlensing Event

We present the analysis of the planetary microlensing event MOA-2020-BLG-135, an event detected by the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) collaboration in mid-2020. The observation of this microlensing event shows particular features in the light curve that can only be explained by a lens system consisting of a star plus a planet. With a strong planetary signal in the MOA data, this discovery qualifies for inclusion in an expansion of the Suzuki et al. (2016) statistical sample that appears to contradict the prediction of a sub-Saturn mass planet “desert” predicted by the runaway gas accretion process of the core accretion theory.

References: Suzuki, D., et al. “The exoplanet mass-ratio function from the MOA-II survey: Discovery of a break and likely peak at a Neptune mass.” The Astrophysical Journal 833.2 (2016): 145.