Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1999-09-01
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
17 pages, with 2 figures. Accepted for publication in P.A.S.P
Scientific paper
10.1086/316470
We report on one year of photometric monitoring of the ultraluminous BAL quasar APM 08279+5255. The temporal sampling reveals that this gravitationally lensed system has brightened by ~0.2 mag in 100 days. Two potential causes present themselves; either the variability is intrinsic to the quasar, or it is the result of microlensing by stars in a foreground system. The data is consistent with both hypotheses and further monitoring is required before either case can be conclusively confirmed. We demonstrate, however, that gravitational microlensing can not play a dominant role in explaining the phenomenal properties exhibited by APM 08279+5255. The identification of intrinsic variability, coupled with the simple gravitational lensing configuration, would suggest that APM 08279+5255 is a potential golden lens from which the cosmological parameters can be derived and is worthy of a monitoring program at high spatial resolution.
Ibata Rodrigo A.
Lewis Geraint F.
Robb Russell M.
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