Abstract. We use numerical simulations to test a broad range of plausible observational strategies designed to measure the time delay between the images of gravitationally lensed quasars. Artificial quasar light curves are created along with Monte-Carlo simulations in order to determine the best temporal sampling to adopt when monitoring the photometric variations of systems with time delays between 5 and 120 days, i.e., always shorter than the visibility window across the year. Few and realistic assumptions are necessary on the quasar photometric variations (peak-to-peak amplitude and time-scale of the variations) and on the accuracy of the individual photometric points. The output of the simulations is the (statistical) relative error made on the time delay measurement, as a function of 1-the object visibility over the year; 2-the temporal sampling of the light curves; and 3-the time delay. Also investigated is the effect of long term microlensing variations which must be below the 5% level (either intrinsically or by subtraction) if the goal is to measure time delays with an accuracy of 1-2%. However, while microlensing increases the random error on the time delay, it does not significantly increase the systematic error, which is always a factor 5 to 10 smaller than the random error. Finally, it is shown that, when the time delay is comparable to the visibility window of the object, a logarithmic sampling can significantly improve the time delay determination. All results are presented in the form of compact plots to be used to optimize the observational strategy of future monitoring programs.Key words. gravitational lensing -cosmological parameters -cosmology: observations
Measuring time delaysMeasuring time delays in gravitationally lensed quasars is difficult, but not as difficult as it first appeared in the late eighties when the first monitoring programs were started. Obtaining regular observing time on telescopes in good sites was (and is still) not easy and the small angular separations between the quasar images require to perform accurate photometry of blended objects, sometimes with several quasar images plus the lensing galaxy within the seeing disk.
COSMOGRAILThe COSMOGRAIL project (COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses), started in April 2004, addresses both issues of carrying out photometry of faint blended sources and of obtaining well sampled light curves of lensed quasars.The project involves 5 telescopes: (1) the Swiss 1.2 m Euler telescope located at La Silla, Chile; (2) the Swiss-Belgian 1.2 m Mercator telescope, located in the Canaria islands (La Palma, Spain); (3) the 2 m robotic telescope of the Liverpool University (UK), also located at La Palma; (4) the 1.5 m telescope of Maidanak observatory in Uzbekistan; and (5) the 2 m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT).All 5 telescopes, and others that will join the collaboration, are used in order to follow the photometric variations of most known gravitationally lensed quasars that are suitable for a determination of H 0 . The sample of...