Detection of Extrasolar Planets by Gravitational Microlensing
  Gravitational microlensing provides a unique window on the properties and
prevalence of extrasolar planetary systems because of its ability to find
low-mass planets at separations of a few AU. The early evidence from
microlensing indicates that the most common type of exoplanet yet detected are
the so-called "super-Earth" planets of ~10 Earth-masses at a separation of a
few AU from their host stars. The detection of two such planets indicates that
roughly one third of stars have such planets in the separation range 1.5-4 AU,
which is about an order of magnitude larger than the prevalence of gas-giant
planets at these separations. We review the basic physics of the microlensing
method, and show why this method allows the detection of Earth-mass planets at
separations of 2-3 AU with ground-based observations. We explore the conditions
that allow the detection of the planetary host stars and allow measurement of
planetary orbital parameters. Finally, we show that a low-cost, space-based
microlensing survey can provide a comprehensive statistical census of
extrasolar planetary systems with sensitivity down to 0.1 Earth-masses at
separations ranging from 0.5 AU to infinity.
