Search for: All records

Abstract Detailed analyses of high-redshift galaxies are challenging because these galaxies are faint, but this difficulty can be overcome with gravitational lensing, in which the magnification of the flux enables spectroscopy with a high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). We present the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) Keck Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) spectrum of the newly discovered z = 2.79 lensed galaxy SDSS J1059+4251. With an observed magnitude F814W = 18.8 and a magnification factor μ = 31 ± 3, J1059+4251 is both highly magnified and intrinsically luminous, about two magnitudes brighter than M UV * at z ∼ 2–3. With a stellar mass M * = (3.22 ± 0.20) × 10 10 M ⊙ , star formation rate SFR = 50 ± 7 M ⊙ yr −1 , and stellar metallicity Z * ≃ 0.15–0.5 Z ⊙ , J1059+4251 is typical of bright star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. Thanks to the high S/N and the spectral resolution of the ESI spectrum, we are able to separate the interstellar and stellar features and derive properties that would be inaccessible without the aid of the lensing. We find evidence of a gas outflow with speeds up to −1000 km s −1 , and of an inflow that is probably due to accreting material seen along a favorable line of sight. We measure relative elemental abundances from the interstellar absorption lines and find that α -capture elements are overabundant compared to iron-peak elements, suggestive of rapid star formation. However, this trend may also be affected by dust depletion. Thanks to the high data quality, our results represent a reliable step forward in the characterization of typical galaxies at early cosmic epochs. 

ABSTRACT One of the main challenges in using high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to study the correlations between the mass of a supermassive black hole ($\mathcal {M}_{\rm BH}$) and the properties of its active host galaxy is instrumental resolution. Strong lensing magnification effectively increases instrumental resolution and thus helps to address this challenge. In this work, we study eight strongly lensed AGNs with deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, using the lens modelling code lenstronomy to reconstruct the image of the source. Using the reconstructed brightness of the host galaxy, we infer the host galaxy stellar mass based on stellar population models. $\mathcal {M}_{\rm BH}$ are estimated from broad emission lines using standard methods. Our results are in good agreement with recent work based on non-lensed AGNs, demonstrating the potential of using strongly lensed AGNs to extend the study of the correlations to higher redshifts. At the moment, the sample size of lensed AGNs is small and thus they provide mostly a consistency check on systematic errors related to resolution for non-lensed AGNs. However, the number of known lensed AGNs is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years, through dedicated searches in ground- and space-based wide-field surveys, and they may become a key diagnostic of black holes and galaxy co-evolution. 

ABSTRACT We present two catalogues of active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates selected from the latest data of two all-sky surveys – Data Release 2 of the Gaia mission and the unWISE catalogue of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We train a random forest classifier to predict the probability of each source in the Gaia–unWISE joint sample being an AGN, PRF, based on Gaia astrometric and photometric measurements and unWISE photometry. The two catalogues, which we designate C75 and R85, are constructed by applying different PRF threshold cuts to achieve an overall completeness of 75 per cent (≈90 per cent at GaiaG ≤ 20 mag) and reliability of 85 per cent, respectively. The C75 (R85) catalogue contains 2734 464 (2182 193) AGN candidates across the effective 36 000 deg2 sky, of which ≈0.91 (0.52) million are new discoveries. Photometric redshifts of the AGN candidates are derived by a random forest regressor using Gaia and WISE magnitudes and colours. The estimated overall photometric redshift accuracy is 0.11. Cross-matching the AGN candidates with a sample of known bright cluster galaxies, we identify a high-probability strongly lensed AGN candidate system, SDSS J1326+4806, with a large image separation of 21${^{\prime\prime}_{.}}$06. All the AGN candidates in our catalogues will have ∼5-yr long light curves from Gaia by the end of the mission, and thus will be a great resource for AGN variability studies. Our AGN catalogues will also be helpful in AGN target selections for future spectroscopic surveys, especially those in the Southern hemisphere. The C75 catalogue can be downloaded at https://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~ypshu/AGN_Catalogues.html. 

One of the main challenges in using high redshift active galactic nuclei to study the correlations between the mass of the supermassive Black Hole (MBH) and the properties of their active host galaxies is instrumental resolution. Strong lensing magnification effectively increases instrumental resolution and thus helps to address this challenge. In this work, we study eight strongly lensed active galactic nuclei (AGN) with deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, using the lens modelling code Lenstronomy to reconstruct the image of the source. Using the reconstructed brightness of the host galaxy, we infer the host galaxy stellar mass based on stellar population models. MBH are estimated from broad emission lines using standard methods. Our results are in good agreement with recent work based on non-lensed AGN, providing additional evidence that the correlation evolves over cosmic time. At the moment, the sample size of lensed AGN is small and thus they provide mostly a consistency check on systematic errors related to resolution for the non-lensed AGN. However, the number of known lensed AGN is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years, through dedicated searches in ground and space based wide field surveys, and they may become a key diagnostic of black hole and galaxy co-evolution. 

Abstract We present the lens mass model of the quadruply-imaged gravitationally lensed quasar WFI2033−4723, and perform a blind cosmographical analysis based on this system. Our analysis combines (1) time-delay measurements from 14 years of data obtained by the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses (COSMOGRAIL) collaboration, (2) high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, (3) a measurement of the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy based on ESO-MUSE data, and (4) multi-band, wide-field imaging and spectroscopy characterizing the lens environment. We account for all known sources of systematics, including the influence of nearby perturbers and complex line-of-sight structure, as well as the parametrization of the light and mass profiles of the lensing galaxy. After unblinding, we determine the effective time-delay distance to be $4784_{-248}^{+399}~\mathrm{Mpc}$, an average precision of $6.6{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. This translates to a Hubble constant $H_{0} = 71.6_{-4.9}^{+3.8}~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, assuming a flat ΛCDM cosmology with a uniform prior on Ωm in the range [0.05, 0.5]. This work is part of the H0 Lenses in COSMOGRAIL’s Wellspring (H0LiCOW) collaboration, and the full time-delay cosmography results from a total of six strongly lensed systems are presented in a companion paper (H0LiCOW XIII). 

Abstract We present a measurement of the Hubble constant (H0) and other cosmological parameters from a joint analysis of six gravitationally lensed quasars with measured time delays. All lenses except the first are analyzed blindly with respect to the cosmological parameters. In a flat ΛCDM cosmology, we find $H_{0} = 73.3_{-1.8}^{+1.7}~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$, a $2.4{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ precision measurement, in agreement with local measurements of H0 from type Ia supernovae calibrated by the distance ladder, but in 3.1σ tension with Planck observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This method is completely independent of both the supernovae and CMB analyses. A combination of time-delay cosmography and the distance ladder results is in 5.3σ tension with Planck CMB determinations of H0 in flat ΛCDM. We compute Bayes factors to verify that all lenses give statistically consistent results, showing that we are not underestimating our uncertainties and are able to control our systematics. We explore extensions to flat ΛCDM using constraints from time-delay cosmography alone, as well as combinations with other cosmological probes, including CMB observations from Planck, baryon acoustic oscillations, and type Ia supernovae. Time-delay cosmography improves the precision of the other probes, demonstrating the strong complementarity. Allowing for spatial curvature does not resolve the tension with Planck. Using the distance constraints from time-delay cosmography to anchor the type Ia supernova distance scale, we reduce the sensitivity of our H0 inference to cosmological model assumptions. For six different cosmological models, our combined inference on H0 ranges from ∼73–78 km s−1 Mpc−1, which is consistent with the local distance ladder constraints. 

ABSTRACT We present the measurement of the Hubble constant, H0, with three strong gravitational lens systems. We describe a blind analysis of both PG 1115+080 and HE 0435−1223 as well as an extension of our previous analysis of RXJ 1131−1231. For each lens, we combine new adaptive optics (AO) imaging from the Keck Telescope, obtained as part of the SHARP (Strong-lensing High Angular Resolution Programme) AO effort, with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, velocity dispersion measurements, and a description of the line-of-sight mass distribution to build an accurate and precise lens mass model. This mass model is then combined with the COSMOGRAIL-measured time delays in these systems to determine H0. We do both an AO-only and an AO + HST analysis of the systems and find that AO and HST results are consistent. After unblinding, the AO-only analysis gives $H_{0}=82.8^{+9.4}_{-8.3}~\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$ for PG 1115+080, $H_{0}=70.1^{+5.3}_{-4.5}~\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$ for HE 0435−1223, and $H_{0}=77.0^{+4.0}_{-4.6}~\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$ for RXJ 1131−1231. The joint AO-only result for the three lenses is $H_{0}=75.6^{+3.2}_{-3.3}~\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$. The joint result of the AO + HST analysis for the three lenses is $H_{0}=76.8^{+2.6}_{-2.6}~\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$. All of these results assume a flat Λ cold dark matter cosmology with a uniform prior on Ωm in [0.05, 0.5] and H0 in [0, 150] $\rm km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}$. This work is a collaboration of the SHARP and H0LiCOW teams, and shows that AO data can be used as the high-resolution imaging component in lens-based measurements of H0. The full time-delay cosmography results from a total of six strongly lensed systems are presented in a companion paper.