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Abstract Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs), a phase in some galaxy mergers during which both central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are active, are expected to be a key observable stage leading up to SMBH mergers. Constraining the population of dual AGNs in both the nearby and high-zUniverse has proven to be elusive until very recently. We present a multiwavelength follow-up campaign to confirm the nature of a sample of 20 candidate dual AGNs at cosmic noon (z ∼ 2) from the VODKA sample. Through a combination of Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Array imaging, we refute the possibility of gravitational lensing in all but one target. We find evidence of dual AGNs in three systems, while seven exhibit a single AGN in galaxy pairs, through either strong radio emission or ancillary emission-line data. The remaining systems are confirmed as either quasar−star superpositions (seven) or nonlensed pairs (two) that require further investigations to establish AGN activity. Among the systems with radio detections, we find a variety of radio spectral slopes and UV/optical colors suggesting that our sample contains a range of AGN properties, from obscured radio-quiet objects to those with powerful synchrotron-emitting jets. This study presents one of the largest dedicated multiwavelength follow-up campaigns to date searching for dual AGNs at high redshift. We confirm several of the highest-zsystems at small physical separations, thus representing some of the most evolved dual-AGN systems at the epoch of peak quasar activity known to date. 

Abstract Galaxy-cluster gravitational lenses enable the study of faint galaxies even at large lookback times, and, recently, time-delay constraints on the Hubble constant. There have been few tests, however, of lens model predictions adjacent to the critical curve (≲8″) where the magnification is greatest. In a companion paper, we use the GLAFIC lens model to constrain the BalmerL–σrelation for Hiiregions in a galaxy at redshiftz= 1.49 strongly lensed by the MACS J1149 galaxy cluster. Here we perform a detailed comparison between the predictions of 10 cluster lens models that employ multiple modeling assumptions with our measurements of 11 magnified, giant Hiiregions. We find that that the models predict magnifications an average factor of 6.2 smaller, a ∼2σtension, than that inferred from the Hiiregions under the assumption that they follow the low-redshiftL–σrelation. To evaluate the possibility that the lens model magnifications are strongly biased, we next consider the flux ratios among knots in three images of Sp1149, and find that these are consistent with model predictions. Moreover, while the mass-sheet degeneracy could in principle account for a factor of ∼6 discrepancy in magnification, the value ofH₀inferred from SN Refsdal’s time delay would become implausibly small. We conclude that the lens models are not likely to be highly biased, and that instead the Hiiregions in Sp1149 are substantially more luminous than the low-redshift BalmerL–σrelation predicts. 

Abstract Extensive air showers induced from high-energy cosmic rays provide a window into understanding the most energetic phenomena in the universe. We present a new method for observing these showers using the silicon imaging detector Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC). This method has the advantage of being able to measure individual secondary particles. When paired with a surface detector array, silicon imaging detectors like Subaru HSC will be useful for studying the properties of extensive air showers in detail. The following report outlines the first results of observing extensive air showers with Subaru HSC. The potential for reconstructing the incident direction of primary cosmic rays is demonstrated and possible interdisciplinary applications are discussed. 

Abstract The first James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near InfraRed Camera imaging in the field of the galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0 (z= 0.35) uncovered a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) atz= 1.78, called “SN H0pe.” Three different images of this one SN were detected as a result of strong gravitational lensing, each one traversing a different path in spacetime, thereby inducing a relative delay in the arrival of each image. Follow-up JWST observations of all three SN images enabled photometric and rare spectroscopic measurements of the two relative time delays. Following strict blinding protocols which oversaw a live unblinding and regulated postunblinding changes, these two measured time delays were compared to the predictions of seven independently constructed cluster lens models to measure a value for the Hubble constant,H₀ =  71.8 + 9.2 − 8.1 km s⁻¹Mpc⁻¹. The range of admissibleH₀values predicted across the lens models limits further precision, reflecting the well-known degeneracies between lens model constraints and time delays. It has long been theorized that a way forward is to leverage a standard candle, but this has not been realized until now. For the first time, the lens models are evaluated by their agreement with the SN absolute magnifications, breaking degeneracies and producing our best estimate,H₀ =  ${75.7}_{-5.5}^{+8.1}$km s⁻¹Mpc⁻¹. This is the first precise measurement ofH₀from a multiply imaged SN Ia and only the second from any multiply imaged SN. 

Abstract We report Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 deep IR (F160W) imaging of SDSS J1608+2716. This system, located at a redshift of z = 2.575, was recently reported as a triple-quasar candidate with subarcsecond separations (∼0.″25) based on selection from Gaia astrometry and follow-up Keck adaptive optics–assisted integral field unit spectroscopy. Our new HST deep IR imaging reveals the presence of a fourth point-like component located ∼0.″9 away from the triple system. Additionally, we detect an edge-on disk galaxy located in between the four point sources. The entire system exhibits a characteristic cusp structure in the context of strong gravitational lensing, and the observed image configuration can be successfully reproduced using a lens model based on a singular isothermal ellipsoid mass profile. These findings indicate that this system is a quadruply lensed quasar. Our results highlight the challenges associated with identifying dual/multiple quasars on ∼kiloparsec scales at high redshifts and emphasize the crucial role of deep, high-resolution IR imaging in robustly confirming such systems. 

Abstract Dual quasars at small physical separations are an important precursor phase of galaxy mergers, ultimately leading to the coalescence of the two supermassive black holes. Starting from a sample of dual and/or lensed quasar candidates discovered using astrometric jitter in Gaia data, we present a pilot case study of one of the most promising yet puzzling candidate dual quasars at cosmic noon (z∼ 1.8). Using multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopy from X-ray to radio, we test whether the SDSS J0823+2418 system is two individual quasars in a bound pair at separation ∼0.″64, or instead a single quasar being gravitationally lensed by a foreground galaxy. We find consistent flux ratios (∼1.25−1.45) between the two sources in optical, near-IR (NIR), UV, and radio, and thus similar spectral energy distributions, suggesting a strong-lensing scenario. However, differences in the radio spectral index, as well as changing X-ray fluxes, hint at either a dual quasar with otherwise nearly identical properties or perhaps lensing-based time lag of ∼3 days paired with intrinsic variability. We find with lens mass modeling that the relative NIR positions and magnitudes of the two quasars and a marginally detected central galaxy are consistent with strong lensing. Archival Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra likewise suggest a foreground absorber via Mgiiabsorption lines. We conclude that SDSS J0823+2418 is likely a lensed quasar, and therefore that the VODKA sample contains a population of these lensed systems (perhaps as high as 50%) as well as dual quasars. 

Abstract The statistics of galactic-scale quasar pairs can elucidate our understanding of the dynamical evolution of supermassive black hole (SMBH) pairs, the duty cycles of quasar activity in mergers, or even the nature of dark matter, but they have been challenging to measure at cosmic noon, the prime epoch of massive galaxy and SMBH formation. Here we measure a double quasar fraction of ∼6.2 ± 0.5 × 10 −4 integrated over ∼0.″3–3″ separations (projected physical separations of ∼3–30 kpc at z ∼ 2) in luminous ( L bol > 10 45.8 erg s −1 ) unobscured quasars at 1.5 < z < 3.5 using Gaia EDR3-resolved pairs around SDSS DR16 quasars. The measurement was based on a sample of 60 Gaia-resolved double quasars (out of 487 Gaia pairs dominated by quasar+star superpositions) at these separations, corrected for pair completeness in Gaia, which we quantify as functions of pair separation, magnitude of the primary, and magnitude contrast. The double quasar fraction increases toward smaller separations by a factor of ∼5 over these scales. The division between physical quasar pairs and lensed quasars in our sample is currently unknown, requiring dedicated follow-up observations (in particular, deep, subarcsecond-resolution IR imaging for the closest pairs). Intriguingly, at this point, the observed pair statistics are in rough agreement with theoretical predictions both for the lensed quasar population in mock catalogs and for dual quasars in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. Upcoming wide-field imaging/spectroscopic space missions such as Euclid, CSST, and Roman, combined with targeted follow-up observations, will conclusively measure the abundances and host galaxy properties of galactic-scale quasar pairs, offset AGNs, and subarcsecond lensed quasars across cosmic time. 

Abstract A tight positive correlation between the stellar mass and the gas-phase metallicity of galaxies has been observed at low redshifts. The redshift evolution of this correlation can strongly constrain theories of galaxy evolution. The advent of JWST allows probing the mass–metallicity relation at redshifts far beyond what was previously accessible. Here we report the discovery of two emission line galaxies at redshifts 8.15 and 8.16 in JWST NIRCam imaging and NIRSpec spectroscopy of targets gravitationally lensed by the cluster RX J2129.4+0005. We measure their metallicities and stellar masses along with nine additional galaxies at 7.2 <z_spec< 9.5 to report the first quantitative statistical inference of the mass–metallicity relation atz≈ 8. We measure ∼0.9 dex evolution in the normalization of the mass–metallicity relation fromz≈ 8 to the local universe; at a fixed stellar mass, galaxies are 8 times less metal enriched atz≈ 8 compared to the present day. Our inferred normalization is in agreement with the predictions of FIRE simulations. Our inferred slope of the mass–metallicity relation is similar to or slightly shallower than that predicted by FIRE or observed at lower redshifts. We compare thez≈ 8 galaxies to extremely low-metallicity analog candidates in the local universe, finding that they are generally distinct from extreme emission line galaxies or “green peas,” but are similar in strong emission line ratios and metallicities to “blueberry galaxies.” Despite this similarity, at a fixed stellar mass, thez≈ 8 galaxies have systematically lower metallicities compared to blueberry galaxies.