The vast majority of binaries containing a compact object and a regular star spend most of their time in a quiescent state where no strong interactions occur between components. Detection of these binaries is extremely challenging and only few candidates have been detected through optical spectroscopy. Self-lensing represents a new means of detecting compact objects in binaries, where gravitational lensing of the light from the visible component by the compact object produces periodic optical flares. Here we show that current and planned large-area optical surveys can detect a significant number (∼100–10 000s) of these self-lensing binaries and provide insights into the properties of the compact lenses. We show that many of the predicted population of observable self-lensing binaries will be observed with multiple self-lensing flares; this both improves the chances of detection and also immediately distinguishes them from chance-alignment micro-lensing events. Through self-lensing we can investigate long – but previously hidden – stages of binary evolution and consequently provide new constraints on evolutionary models that impact the number and nature of double compact object mergers.

中文翻译：

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预测光学调查中的自透镜人口

绝大多数包含致密天体和普通恒星的双星大部分时间都处于静止状态，成分之间不会发生强烈的相互作用。检测这些双星是极具挑战性的，通过光谱学检测到的候选者寥寥无几。自透镜代表了一种检测双星中致密物体的新方法，其中致密物体对可见光分量的引力透镜效应会产生周期性的光学耀斑。在这里，我们展示了当前和计划中的大面积光学调查可以检测到大量（~100-10 000）这些自透镜双星，并提供对紧凑透镜特性的见解。我们表明，许多预测的可观测自透镜双星群体将被多个自透镜耀斑观测到；这既提高了检测的机会，也立即将它们与机会对齐微透镜事件区分开来。通过自我观察，我们可以研究长期但以前隐藏的二元进化阶段，从而为影响双紧凑对象合并的数量和性质的进化模型提供新的约束。