Do relativistic corrections affect microlensing amplification?

Abstract

Studies of gravitational microlensing are usually based on the lens equation, which is valid only to first order in the gravitational constant $G$. However, the amplification factor of microlensing is a second-order quantity with respect to $G$. Despite this fact, conventional studies are still based on the lowest-order lens equation. Then the question naturally arises: Why are these conventional studies justified? We carefully study the relativistic correction to the amplification factor at $O(G^2)$. We show that the amplification factor for each image is corrected. However, the total amplification remains unchanged at this order.