Applying the distance sum rule in strong gravitational lensing (SGL) and SN Ia observations, one can provide an interesting cosmological model-independent method to determine the cosmic curvature ...parameter k. In this paper, with the newly compiled data sets including 161 galactic-scale SGL systems and 1048 SN Ia data, we place constraints on k within the framework of three types of lens models extensively used in SGL studies. Moreover, to investigate the effect of different mass lens samples on the results, we divide the SGL sample into three subsamples based on the center velocity dispersion of intervening galaxies. In the singular isothermal sphere (SIS) and extended power-law lens models, a flat universe is supported with an uncertainty of about 0.2, while a closed universe is preferred in the power-law lens model. We find that the choice of lens models and the classification of SGL data actually can influence the constraints on k significantly.
Dusty star-forming galaxies at high redshift (1 < z < 3) represent the most intense star-forming regions in the universe. Key aspects to these processes are the gas heating and cooling mechanisms, ...and although it is well known that these galaxies are gas-rich, little is known about the gas excitation conditions. Only a few detailed radiative transfer studies have been carried out owing to a lack of multiple line detections per galaxy. Here we examine these processes in a sample of 24 strongly lensed star-forming galaxies identified by the Planck satellite (LPs) at z ∼ 1.1-3.5. We analyze 162 CO rotational transitions (ranging from Jup = 1 to 12) and 37 atomic carbon fine-structure lines (C i) in order to characterize the physical conditions of the gas in the sample of LPs. We simultaneously fit the CO and C i lines and the dust continuum emission, using two different non-LTE, radiative transfer models. The first model represents a two-component gas density, while the second assumes a turbulence-driven lognormal gas density distribution. These LPs are among the most gas-rich, IR-luminous galaxies ever observed ( L L IR ( 8 − 1000 m ) ∼ 10 13 − 14.6 L ; 〈 LMISM 〉 = (2.7 1.2) × 1012 M , with L ∼ 10-30 the average lens magnification factor). Our results suggest that the turbulent interstellar medium present in the LPs can be well characterized by a high turbulent velocity dispersion ( 〈 ΔVturb 〉 ∼ 100 km s−1) and ratios of gas kinetic temperature to dust temperature 〈 Tkin/Td 〉 ∼ 2.5, sustained on scales larger than a few kiloparsecs. We speculate that the average surface density of the molecular gas mass and IR luminosity, M ISM ∼ 103-4 M pc−2 and L IR ∼ 1011-12 L kpc−2, arise from both stellar mechanical feedback and a steady momentum injection from the accretion of intergalactic gas.
Abstract
Absolute distances from strong lensing can anchor Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) at cosmological distances giving a model-independent inference of the Hubble constant (
H
0
). Future ...observations could provide strong lensing time-delay distances with source redshifts up to
z
≃ 4, which are much higher than the maximum redshift of SNe Ia observed so far. In order to make full use of time-delay distances measured at higher redshifts, we use quasars as a complementary cosmic probe to measure cosmological distances at redshifts beyond those of SNe Ia and provide a model-independent method to determine
H
0
. In this work, we demonstrate a model-independent, joint constraint of SNe Ia, quasars, and time-delay distances from strong lensed quasars. We first generate mock data sets of SNe Ia, quasar, and time-delay distances based on a fiducial cosmological model. Then, we calibrate the quasar parameters model independently using Gaussian process (GP) regression with mock SNe Ia data. Finally, we determine the value of
H
0
model-independently using GP regression from mock quasars and time-delay distances from strong lensing systems. As a comparison, we also show the
H
0
results obtained from mock SNe Ia in combination with time-delay lensing systems whose redshifts overlap with SNe Ia. Our results show that quasars at higher redshifts show great potential to extend the redshift coverage of SNe Ia and thus enable the full use of strong lens time-delay distance measurements from ongoing cosmic surveys and improve the accuracy of the estimation of
H
0
from 2.1% to 1.3% when the uncertainties of the time-delay distances are 5% of the distance values.
We search for signatures of gravitational lensing in the gravitational-wave signals from compact binary coalescences detected by Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) ...and Advanced Virgo during O3a, the first half of their third observing run. We study: (1) the expected rate of lensing at current detector sensitivity and the implications of a non-observation of strong lensing or a stochastic gravitational-wave background on the merger-rate density at high redshift; (2) how the interpretation of individual high-mass events would change if they were found to be lensed; (3) the possibility of multiple images due to strong lensing by galaxies or galaxy clusters; and (4) possible wave-optics effects due to point-mass microlenses. Several pairs of signals in the multiple-image analysis show similar parameters and, in this sense, are nominally consistent with the strong lensing hypothesis. However, taking into account population priors, selection effects, and the prior odds against lensing, these events do not provide sufficient evidence for lensing. Overall, we find no compelling evidence for lensing in the observed gravitational-wave signals from any of these analyses.
Abstract
We report the discovery of two extremely magnified lensed star candidates behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+015 using recent multiband James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam ...observations. The star candidates are seen in a previously known,
z
phot
≃ 4.8 dropout giant arc that straddles the critical curve. The candidates lie near the expected critical curve position, but lack clear counter-images on the other side of it, suggesting these are possibly stars undergoing caustic crossings. We present revised lensing models for the cluster, including multiply imaged galaxies newly identified in the JWST data, and use them to estimate background macro-magnifications of at least ≳90 and ≳50 at the positions of the two candidates, respectively. With these values, we expect effective, caustic-crossing magnifications of ∼10
3
–10
5
for the two star candidates. The spectral energy distributions of the two candidates match well the spectra of B-type stars with best-fit surface temperatures of ∼10,000 K, and ∼12,000 K, respectively, and we show that such stars with masses ≳20
M
⊙
and ≳50
M
⊙
, respectively, can become sufficiently magnified to be observable. We briefly discuss other alternative explanations and conclude that these objects are likely lensed stars, but also acknowledge that the less-magnified candidate may alternatively reside in a star cluster. These star candidates constitute the second highest-redshift examples to date after Earendel at
z
phot
≃ 6.2, establishing further the potential of studying extremely magnified stars at high redshifts with JWST. Planned future observations, including with NIRSpec, will enable a more detailed view of these candidates in the near future.
We perform a semi-automated search for strong gravitational lensing systems in the 9000 deg2 Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS), part of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Legacy Imaging ...Surveys. The combination of the depth and breadth of these surveys are unparalleled at this time, making them particularly suitable for discovering new strong gravitational lensing systems. We adopt the deep residual neural network architecture developed by Lanusse et al. for the purpose of finding strong lenses in photometric surveys. We compile a training sample that consists of known lensing systems in the Legacy Surveys and the Dark Energy Survey as well as non-lenses in the footprint of DECaLS. In this paper we show the results of applying our trained neural network to the cutout images centered on galaxies typed as ellipticals in DECaLS. The images that receive the highest scores (probabilities) are visually inspected and ranked. Here we present 335 candidate strong lensing systems, identified for the first time.
We use 13 seasons of R-band photometry from the 1.2 m Leonard Euler Swiss Telescope at La Silla to examine microlensing variability in the quadruply imaged lensed quasar WFI 2026-4536. The ...lightcurves exhibit ∼0.2 mag of uncorrelated variability across all epochs and a prominent single feature of ∼0.1 mag within a single season. We analyze this variability to constrain the size of the quasar's accretion disk. Adopting a nominal inclination of 60°, we find an accretion disk scale radius of at a rest-frame wavelength of 2043 , and we estimate a black hole mass of , based on the C iv line in VLT spectra. This size measurement is fully consistent with the quasar accretion disk size-black hole mass relation, providing another system in which the accretion disk is larger than predicted by thin-disk theory.
Abstract
We present 97 new high-quality strong lensing candidates found in the final ∼350 deg
2
that complete the full ∼1350 deg
2
area of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS). Together with our previous ...findings, the final list of high-quality candidates from KiDS sums up to 268 systems. The new sample is assembled using a new convolutional neural network (CNN) classifier applied to
r
-band (best-seeing) and
g
,
r
, and
i
color-composited images separately. This optimizes the complementarity of the morphology and color information on the identification of strong lensing candidates. We apply the new classifiers to a sample of luminous red galaxies (LRGs) and a sample of bright galaxies (BGs) and select candidates that received a high probability to be a lens from the CNN (
P
CNN
). In particular, setting
P
CNN
> 0.8 for the LRGs, the one-band CNN predicts 1213 candidates, while the three-band classifier yields 1299 candidates, with only ∼30% overlap. For the BGs, in order to minimize the false positives, we adopt a more conservative threshold,
P
CNN
> 0.9, for both CNN classifiers. This results in 3740 newly selected objects. The candidates from the two samples are visually inspected by seven coauthors to finally select 97 “high-quality” lens candidates which received mean scores larger than 6 (on a scale from 0 to 10). We finally discuss the effect of the seeing on the accuracy of CNN classification and possible avenues to increase the efficiency of multiband classifiers, in preparation of next-generation surveys from ground and space.
Strong-lensing time delays enable the measurement of the Hubble constant (
H
0
) independently of other traditional methods. The main limitation to the precision of time-delay cosmography is ...mass-sheet degeneracy (MSD). Some of the previous TDCOSMO analyses broke the MSD by making standard assumptions about the mass density profile of the lens galaxy, reaching 2% precision from seven lenses. However, this approach could potentially bias the
H
0
measurement or underestimate the errors. For this work, we broke the MSD for the first time using spatially resolved kinematics of the lens galaxy in RXJ1131−1231 obtained from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectroscopy, in combination with previously published time delay and lens models derived from
Hubble
Space Telescope imaging. This approach allowed us to robustly estimate
H
0
, effectively implementing a maximally flexible mass model. Following a blind analysis, we estimated the angular diameter distance to the lens galaxy
D
d
= 865
−81
+85
Mpc and the time-delay distance
D
Δt
= 2180
−271
+472
Mpc, giving
H
0
= 77.1
−7.1
+7.3
km s
−1
Mpc
−1
– for a flat Λ cold dark matter cosmology. The error budget accounts for all uncertainties, including the MSD inherent to the lens mass profile and line-of-sight effects, and those related to the mass–anisotropy degeneracy and projection effects. Our new measurement is in excellent agreement with those obtained in the past using standard simply parametrized mass profiles for this single system (
H
0
= 78.3
−3.3
+3.4
km s
−1
Mpc
−1
) and for seven lenses (
H
0
= 74.2
−1.6
+1.6
km s
−1
Mpc
−1
), or for seven lenses using single-aperture kinematics and the same maximally flexible models used by us (
H
0
= 73.3
−5.8
+5.8
km s
−1
Mpc
−1
). This agreement corroborates the methodology of time-delay cosmography.
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