A quadruply imaged quasar with an optical Einstein ring
 candidate: 1RXS J113155.4–123155

Sluse, Dominique; Surdej, Jean; Claeskens, Jean-François; Hutsemékers, Damien; Jean, C.; Courbin, F.; Nakos, Theodoros; Billères, M.; Khmil, S. V.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030904

Cited by 115 publications

(124 citation statements)

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“…According to the best-fit spectral energy distribution, a photometric redshift of z phot l = 0.45± 0.03 0.05 , was inferred (Faure et al 2008). The morphology of the system suggests that it is a lensed AGN, the ring having been formed by the AGN's host galaxy, similar to that shown by RXS J1131-1231 (Sluse et al 2003) or PG 1115+080 (Impey et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

COSMOS 5921+0638: characterization and analysis of a new strong gravitationally lensed AGN

Anguita

Fauré

Kneib

et al. 2009

A&A

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Context. Strong lens candidates have been newly identified within the COSMOS field. We present VLT/FORS1 spectroscopic followup observations and HST/WFPC2 imaging of the system COSMOS 5921+0638, which exhibits quadruply lensed images and a perfect Einstein ring. Aims. We investigate the nature of COSMOS 5921+0638 by studying its photometric, spectroscopic and physical properties. Methods. By analyzing our VLT/FORS1 spectroscopy and Subaru/CFHT/HST imaging of COSMOS 5921+0638, we completed both an environmental analysis and detailed analytical and grid-based mass modeling to determine it properties. Results. We measured the redshifts of the lensing galaxy in COSMOS 5921+0638 (z l = 0.551 ± 0.001) and 9 additional galaxies in the field (5 of them at z ∼ 0.35). The redshift of the lensed source was inferred by identifying a candidate Lyα line at z s = 3.14 ± 0.05. The mass modeling reveals the requirement of a small external shear (γ = 0.038), which is slightly larger than the lensing contribution expected by galaxy groups along the line-of-sight obtained from the zCOSMOS optical group catalog (κ groups ∼ 0.01 and γ groups ∼ 0.005). The estimated time-delays between the different images are of the order of hours to half a week and the total magnification of the background source is μ ≈ 150. The measured mass-to-light ratio of the lensing galaxy within the Einstein ring is M/L B ≈ 8.5 ± 1.6. Anomalies are observed between the measured and expected flux ratios of the images of the background AGN. Conclusions. Our analysis indicates that the ring and point-like structures in COSMOS 5921+0638 consist of a lensed high redshift galaxy hosting a low luminosity AGN (LLAGN). The observed flux ratio anomalies are probably due to microlensing by stars in the lensing galaxy and/or a combination of static phenomena. Multi-epoch, multi-band space-based observations would allow us to differentiate between the possible causes of these anomalies, since static and/or dynamic variations could be identified. Because of its short time-delays and the possibility of microlensing, COSMOS 5921+0638 is a promising laboratory for future studies of LLAGNs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

COSMOS 5921+0638: characterization and analysis of a new strong gravitationally lensed AGN

Anguita

Fauré

Kneib

et al. 2009

A&A

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“…We now consider the two "microlensing-active" images, A and D. Ref [16] highlight two periods of distinct behaviour in the evolution of Image-D, one in which the the Fe-Kα line profile appears to show a distinctive peak at ∼ 6.4 keV, which they call Periods 1 and 3 (epochs 1-16 and 23-30 respectively), and the other where the Fe-line region is better described by a double profile during their Period 2 (epochs [17][18][19][20][21][22]. In comparison, they did not see any such evolution from the microlensingquiet period in Image-C. Extended Data Fig.…”

Section: Combined "Microlensing-active" Images-a and Dmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The relativistic line is constrained to lie between 6.4-6.97 keV (rest frame). The total model is also affected by two neutral absorbers (PHABS model in XSPEC); the first is to account for possible intrinsic absorption at the redshift of the quasar [19] (z = 0.658); and the second to account for Galactic absorption with a column density of [38] N H = 3.6 × 10 20 cm −2 . In XSPEC terminology this model reads…”

Section: Similarities Of Brighter and Dimmer Imagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…gravitationally lensed by an elliptical galaxy at z = 0.295 [19]. X-ray and optical observations exhibited an intriguing flux-ratio variability between the lensed images, which was subsequently revealed to be due to significant gravitational micro-lensing by stars in the lensing galaxy [15,16].…”

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confidence: 95%

“…Quasars located between 0.5 z 1 are considerably more powerful than local Seyferts and are known to be a major contributor to the Cosmic X-ray background [17], making them objects of particular cosmological importance. 1RXS J113151.6-123158 (hereafter RX J1131-1231) is a quadruply imaged quasar at redshift z = 0.658 hosting a supermassive black hole (M BH ∼ 2×10 8 M ⊙ ) [18] gravitationally lensed by an elliptical galaxy at z = 0.295 [19]. X-ray and optical observations exhibited an intriguing flux-ratio variability between the lensed images, which was subsequently revealed to be due to significant gravitational micro-lensing by stars in the lensing galaxy [15,16].…”

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confidence: 99%

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Reflection from the strong gravity regime in a lensed quasar at redshift z = 0.658

Reis

Reynolds

Miller

et al. 2014

Nature

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The co-evolution of a supermassive black hole with its host galaxy[1] through cosmic time is encoded in its spin[2, 3, 4]. At z > 2, supermassive black holes are thought to grow mostly by merger-driven accretion leading to high spin. However, it is unknown whether below z ∼ 1 these black holes continue to grow via coherent accretion or in a chaotic manner [5], though clear differences are predicted [3,4] in their spin evolution. An established method[6] to measure the spin of black holes is via the study of relativistic reflection features [7] from the inner accretion disk. Owing to their greater distances, there has hitherto been no significant detection of relativistic reflection features in a moderateredshift quasar. Here, we use archival data together with a new, deep observation of a gravitationally-lensed quasar at z = 0.658 to rigorously detect and study reflection in this moderate-redshift quasar. The level of relativistic distortion present in this reflection spectrum enables us to constrain the emission to originate within 3 gravitational radii from the black hole, implying a spin parameter a = 0.87 +0.08 −0.15 at the 3σ level of confidence and a > 0.66 at the 5σ level. The high spin found here is indicative of growth via coherent accretion for this black hole, and suggests that black hole growth between 0.5 z 1 occurs principally by coherent rather than chaotic accretion episodes. 1When optically-thick material, e.g. an accretion disc, is irradiated by hard X-rays, some of the flux is reprocessed into an additional 'reflected' emission component, which contains both continuum emission and atomic features. The most prominent signature of reflection from the inner accretion disc is typically the relativistic iron Kα line (6.4-6.97 keV; rest frame) [8] and the Compton reflection hump [7] often peaking at 20 − 30 keV (rest-frame). However, the deep gravitational potential and strong Doppler shifts associated with regions around black holes will also cause the forest of soft X-ray emission lines in the ∼ 0.7 − 2.0 keV range to be blended into a smooth emission feature, providing a natural explanation for the "soft-excess" observed in the X-ray spectra of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) [9,10]. Indeed, both the iron line and the soft excess can be used to provide insight into the nature of the central black hole and to measure its spin [10]. Prior studies have revealed the presence of a soft-excess in 90% of quasars at[11, 12] z 1.7, and broad Fe-lines are also seen in 25% of these objects [11,13], suggesting that reflection is also prevalent in these distant AGNs. However, due to the inadequate S/N resulting from their greater distances, the X-ray spectra of these quasars were necessarily modeled using simple phenomenological parameterizations [12,14].Gravitational lensing offers a rare opportunity to study the innermost relativistic region in distant quasars [15,16], by acting as a natural telescope and magnifying the light from these sources. Quasars located between 0.5 z 1 are considerably ...

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Quasar microlensing

Schmidt

Wambsganß

2010

Gen Relativ Gravit

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Quasar microlensing deals with the effect of compact objects along the line of sight on the apparent brightness of the background quasars. Due to the relative motion between quasar, lenses and observer, the microlensing magnification changes with time which results in uncorrelated brightness variations in the various images of multiple quasar systems. The amplitudes of the signal can be more than a magnitude with time scales of weeks to months to years. The effect is due to the "granular" nature of the gravitational microlenses-stars or other compact objects in the stellar mass range. Quasar microlensing allows to study the quasar accretion disk with a resolution of tens of microarcseconds, hence quasar microlensing can be used to explore an astrophysical field that is hardly accessible by any other means. Quasar microlensing can also be used to study the lensing objects in a statistical sense, their nature (compact or smoothly distributed, normal stars or dark matter) as well as transverse velocities. Quasar microlensing light curves are now being obtained from monitoring programs across the electromagnetic spectrum from the radio through the infrared and optical range to the X-ray regime. Recently, spectroscopic microlensing was successfully applied, it provides quantitative comparisons with quasar/accretion disk models. There are now more than a handful of systems with several-year long light curves and significant microlensing signal, lending to detailed analysis. This review summarizes the current state of the art of quasar microlensing and shows that at this point in time, observational monitoring programs and complementary intense simulations provide a scenario where some of the early promises of quasar microlensing can

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A quadruply imaged quasar with an optical Einstein ring candidate: 1RXS J113155.4–123155

Cited by 115 publications

References 13 publications

COSMOS 5921+0638: characterization and analysis of a new strong gravitationally lensed AGN

COSMOS 5921+0638: characterization and analysis of a new strong gravitationally lensed AGN

Reflection from the strong gravity regime in a lensed quasar at redshift z = 0.658

Quasar microlensing

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