{
  "id": "astro-ph/9909302",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "1999-09-17T10:08:41.000Z",
  "updated": "1999-09-17T10:08:41.000Z",
  "title": "Gravitational Microlensing: Past, Present and Future",
  "authors": [
    "Shude Mao"
  ],
  "comment": "Invited review for \"Gravitational Lensing: Recent Progress and Future Goals\", Boston University, July 1999, ed. T.G. Brainerd and C.S. Kochanek",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph"
  ],
  "abstract": "Ongoing microlensing surveys have already yielded more than five hundred microlensing events, most of which have been identified in real-time. In this review I present the basic theory and observational status of these surveys. I highlight the discoveries made so far - these include constraints on the dark matter content of the Galaxy, the structure and mass function of stars in the Galactic bulge and applications on stellar atmospheres and populations. I also briefly discuss the scientific returns (such as planet detection) from real-time photometric and spectroscopic follow-up surveys. With improved software algorithms and more powerful instrumentations, the number of microlensing events will be greatly increased in the future; the Space Interferometry Mission, on the other hand, provides the possibility to break the lens mass and distance degeneracy. I conclude that microlensing is developing into an exciting technique with diverse applications.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "1999-09-17T10:08:41.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "gravitational microlensing",
      "microlensing events",
      "space interferometry mission",
      "spectroscopic follow-up surveys",
      "dark matter content"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "review article"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable",
      "inspire": 519393,
      "adsabs": "1999astro.ph..9302M"
    }
  }
}