OGLE-2019-BLG-0304: Competing Interpretations between a Planet–binary Model and a Binary-source + Binary-lens Model

We analyze the microlensing event OGLE-2019-BLG-0304, whose light curve exhibits two distinctive features: a deviation in the peak region and a second bump appearing ∼61 days after the main peak. Although a binary-lens model can explain the overall features, it leaves subtle but noticeable residuals in the peak region. We find that the residuals can be explained by the presence of either a planetary companion located close to the primary of the binary lens (3L1S model) or an additional close companion to the source (2L2S model). Although the 3L1S model is favored over the 2L2S model, with Δ χ 2 ∼ 8, securely resolving the degeneracy between the two models is difficult with the currently available photometric data. According to the 3L1S interpretation, the lens is a planetary system, in which a planet with a mass 0.51 − 0.23 + 0.51 M J is in an S-type orbit around a binary composed of stars with masses 0.27 − 0.12 + 0.27 M ⊙ and 0.10 − 0.04 + 0.10 M ⊙ . According to the 2L2S interpretation, however, the source is composed of G- and K-type giant stars and the lens is composed of a low-mass M dwarf and a brown dwarf with masses 0.12 − 0.05 + 0.12 M ⊙ and 0.045 − .019 + 0.045 M ⊙ , respectively. The event illustrates the need for thorough model testing in the interpretation of lensing events with complex features in light curves.