Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2006-03-17
Astrophys.J.651:667-675, 2006
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Submitted to ApJ. 8 pages, 6 figures
Scientific paper
10.1086/507623
We report the serendipitous discovery of two strong gravitational lens candidates (ACS J160919+6532 and ACS J160910+6532) in deep images obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope, each less than 40 arcsec from the previously known gravitational lens system CLASS B1608+656. The redshifts of both lens galaxies have been measured with Keck and Gemini: one is a member of a small galaxy group at z~0.63, which also includes the lensing galaxy in the B1608+656 system, and the second is a member of a foreground group at z~0.43. By measuring the effective radii and surface brightnesses of the two lens galaxies, we infer their velocity dispersions based on the passively evolving Fundamental Plane (FP) relation. Elliptical isothermal lens mass models are able to explain their image configurations within the lens hypothesis, with a velocity dispersion compatible with that estimated from the FP for a reasonable source-redshift range. Based on the large number of massive early-type galaxies in the field and the number-density of faint blue galaxies, the presence of two additional lens systems around CLASS B1608+656 is not unlikely in hindsight. Gravitational lens galaxies are predominantly early-type galaxies, which are clustered, and the lensed quasar host galaxies are also clustered. Therefore, obtaining deep high-resolution images of the fields around known strong lens systems is an excellent method of enhancing the probability of finding additional strong gravitational lens systems.
Auger Matthew W.
Blandford Roger. D.
Fassnacht Chris D.
Jeltema Tesla E.
Koopmans Leon V. E.
No associations
LandOfFree
Three Gravitational Lenses for the Price of One: Enhanced Strong Lensing through Galaxy Clustering does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Three Gravitational Lenses for the Price of One: Enhanced Strong Lensing through Galaxy Clustering, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Three Gravitational Lenses for the Price of One: Enhanced Strong Lensing through Galaxy Clustering will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-79747