Parallax Microlensing Events in the OGLE II Database Toward the Galactic Bulge

We present a systematic search for parallax microlensing events among a total of 512 microlensing candidates in the OGLE II database for the 1997-1999 seasons. We fit each microlensing candidate with both the standard microlensing model and also a parallax model that accounts for the Earth’s motion around the Sun. We then search for the parallax signature by comparing the χ of the standard and parallax models. For the events which show a significant improvement, we further use the ‘duration’ of the event and the signal-to-noise ratio as criteria to separate true parallax events from other noisy microlensing events. We have discovered one convincing new candidate, sc33 4505, and seven other marginal cases. The convincing candidate (sc33 4505) is caused by a slow-moving, and likely low-mass, object, similar to other known parallax events. We found that irregular sampling and gaps between observing seasons hamper the recovery of parallax events. We have also searched for long-duration events that do not show parallax signatures. The lack of parallax effects in a microlensing event puts a lower-limit on the Einstein radius projected onto the observer plane, which in turn imposes a lower limit on the lens mass divided by the relative lens-source parallax. Most of the constraints are however quite weak.