A Natural Formalism for Microlensing

If the standard microlensing geometry is inverted so that the Einstein ring is projected onto the observer plane rather than the source plane, then the relations between the observables (\theta_E,\tilde r_E) and the underlying physical quantities (M,\pi_rel) become immediately obvious. Here \theta_E and \tilde r_E are the angular and projected Einstein radii, M is the mass of the lens, and \pi_rel is the lens-source relative parallax. I recast the basic formalism of microlensing in light of this more natural geometry and in terms of observables. I then find that the relations between observable and physical quantities assume an exceptionally simple form. In an appendix, I propose a set of notational conventions for microlensing.