A new gravitational lens from the MUSCLES survey: ULAS J082016.1+081216

We present observations of a new double-image gravitational lens system, ULAS J082016.1+081216, of image separation 2.3 arcsec and high (∼6) flux ratio. The system is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic quasar list using new high-quality images from the UKIRT (United Kingdom Infrared Telescope) Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS). The lensed quasar has a source redshift of 2.024, and we identify the lens galaxy as a faint red object of redshift  0.803 ± 0.001  . Three other objects from the UKIDSS survey, selected in the same way, were found not to be lens systems. Together with the earlier lens found using this method, the SDSS–UKIDSS lenses have the potential to significantly increase the number of quasar lenses found in SDSS, to extend the survey to higher flux ratios and lower separations, and to give greater completeness which is important for statistical purposes.     

B0712+472: a new radio four-image gravitational lens

A new four-image gravitational lens system, B0712+472, has been discovered during the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey. This system consists of four flat-spectrum radio images that are also seen on a Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) image, together with the lensing galaxy. We present MERLIN, VLA and VLBA maps and WHT spectra of the system as well as the HST images. The light distribution of the lensing galaxy is highly elongated and so too is the mass distribution deduced from modelling. We suggest a redshift of ∼1.33 for the lensed object; the lens redshift will require further investigation. The discovery of this new system further increases the ratio of four-image to two-image lens systems currently known, exacerbating problems of required ellipticity of matter distributions in lensing galaxies.     

QSO lensing magnification associated with galaxy groups

We simulated both the matter and light (galaxy) distributions in a wedge of the Universe and calculated the gravitational lensing magnification caused by the mass along the line-of-sight of galaxies and galaxy groups identified in sky surveys. A large volume redshift cone containing cold dark matter particles mimics the expected cosmological matter distribution in a flat universe with low matter density and a cosmological constant. We generate a mock galaxy catalogue from the matter distribution and identify thousands of galaxy groups in the luminous sky projection. We calculate the expected magnification around galaxies and galaxy groups and then the induced quasi-stellar object (QSO)–lens angular correlation due to magnification bias. This correlation is observable and can be used both to estimate the average mass of the lens population and to make cosmological inferences. We also use analytical calculations and various analyses to compare the observational results with theoretical expectations for the cross-correlation between faint QSOs from the 2dF Survey and nearby galaxies and groups from the Automated Plate Measurement and Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release. The observed QSO–lens anticorrelations are stronger than the predictions for the cosmological model used. This suggests that there could be unknown systematic errors in the observations and data reduction, or that the model used is not adequate. If the observed signal is assumed to be solely due to gravitational lensing, then the lensing is stronger than expected, due to more massive galactic structures or more efficient lensing than simulated.     

Using galaxy redshift surveys to detect gravitationally lensed quasars

Gravitationally lensed quasars can be discovered as a by-product of galaxy redshift surveys. Lenses discovered spectroscopically in this way should require less observational effort per event than those found in dedicated lens surveys. Further, the lens galaxies should be relatively nearby, facilitating a number of detailed observations that are impossible for the more common high-redshift lenses. This is epitomized by the wide range of results that have been obtained from Q 2237+0305, which was discovered as part of the Center for Astrophysics redshift survey, and remains the only quasar lens discovered in this way. The likelihood of this survey yielding a lens is calculated to be ∼0.03, which is an order of magnitude larger than previous estimates due to two effects. First, the quasar images themselves increase the observed flux of the lens, so that lens galaxies up to a magnitude fainter than the nominal survey limit must be included in the calculation. Secondly, it is possible for lensed quasars with extremely faint deflectors to enter the survey due to the extended morphology of the multiple images. Extrapolating these results to future surveys, the 2 degree Field galaxy redshift survey should contain between 10 and 50 lenses and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey should yield between 50 and 300 lenses, depending on the cosmological model and the observing conditions.     

The role of luminous substructure in the gravitational lens system MG 2016+112

MG 2016+112 is a quadruply imaged lens system with two complete images A and B and a pair of merging partial images in region C as seen in the radio. The merging images are found to violate the expected mirror symmetry. This indicates an astrometric anomaly which could only be of gravitational origin and could arise due to substructure in the environment or line of sight of the lens galaxy. We present new high-resolution multifrequency very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations at 1.7, 5 and 8.4 GHz. Three new components are detected in the new VLBI imaging of both the lensed images A and B. The expected opposite parity of the lensed images A and B was confirmed due to the detection of non-collinear components. Furthermore, the observed properties of the newly detected components are inconsistent with the predictions of previous mass models. We present new scenarios for the background quasar which are consistent with the new observations. We also investigate the role of the satellite galaxy situated at the same redshift as the main lensing galaxy. Our new mass models demonstrate quantitatively that the satellite galaxy is the primary cause of the astrometric anomaly found in region C. The detected satellite is consistent with the abundance of subhaloes expected in the halo from cold dark matter (CDM) simulations. However, the fraction of the total halo mass in the satellite as computed from lens modelling is found to be higher than that predicted by CDM simulations.     

Weighing a galaxy bar in the lens Q2237 +=0305

In the gravitational lens system Q2237+0305 the cruciform quasar image geometry is twisted by 10c by the lens effect of a bar in the lensing galaxy. This effect can be used to measure the mass of the bar. We construct a new lensing model for this system with a power-law elliptical bulge and a Ferrers bar. The observed ellipticity of the optical isophotes of the galaxy leads to a nearly isothermal elliptical profile for the bulge, with a total quasar magnification of 16⁺⁵₋₄. We measure a bar mass of (7.5 ∼ 1.5) −10⁸ h ⁻¹₇₅ M⊙ in the region inside the quasar images.     

On the streaming motions of haloes and galaxies

Little is known about the statistics of gravitationally lensed quasars at large (7–30 arcsec) image separations, which probe masses on the scale of galaxy clusters. We have carried out a survey for gravitationally lensed objects, among sources in the FIRST 20-cm radio survey that have unresolved optical counterparts in the digitizations of the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. From the statistics of ongoing surveys that search for quasars among FIRST sources, we estimate that there are about 9100 quasars in this source sample, making this one of the largest lensing surveys to date. Using broad-band imaging, we have isolated all objects with double radio components separated by 5–30 arcsec that have unresolved optical counterparts with similar BVI colours. Our criteria for similar colours conservatively allow for observational error and for colour variations due to time delays between lensed images. Spectroscopy of these candidates shows that none of the pairs are lensed quasars. This sets an upper limit (95 per cent confidence) on the lensing fraction in this survey of 3.3×10⁻⁴, assuming 9100 quasars. Although the source redshift distribution is poorly known, a rough calculation of the expected lensing frequency and the detection efficiencies and biases suggests that simple theoretical expectations are of the same order of magnitude as our observational upper limit. Our procedure is novel in that our exhaustive search for lensed objects does not require prior identification of the quasars in the sample as such. Characterization of the FIRST-selected quasar population will enable use of our result to constrain quantitatively the mass properties of clusters.     

The new gravitational lens system B1030 + 074

We report the discovery of a new double-image gravitational lens system, B1030 + 074, which was found during the Jodrell Bank–VLA Astrometric Survey (JVAS). We have collected extensive radio data on the system using the VLA, MERLIN, the EVN and the VLBA, and optical observations using WFPC2 on the HST . The lensed images are separated by 1.56 arcsec and their flux density ratio at centimetric wavelengths is approximately 14:1, although the ratio is slightly frequency-dependent and the images appear to be time-variable. The HST pictures show both the lensed images and the lensing galaxy close to the weaker image. The lensing galaxy has substructure which could be a spiral arm or an interacting galaxy. We have modelled B1030 + 074 using a singular isothermal ellipsoid which yields a time delay of 156/ h ₅₀ d. This lens is likely to be suitable for the measurement of the Hubble constant.     

Modelling the 10-image lensed system B1933+503

A gravitational lens model is presented for the newly discovered 10-image system B1933+503. The underlying object, revealed by modelling, is a triple radio source on the scale of a couple of hundred mas that is well-aligned along the line of sight with a foreground and somewhat flattened lensing galaxy, the orientation and location of which match those of an observed galaxy, known to be at a redshift of 0.755. Uncertainties in the modelling are obtained by a Monte Carlo exercise. Observational tests of the lens model are proposed, and the time delays between various pairs of images are determined, as the core of the source is known to be significantly variable. Future observations of the lens hold the key to using B1933+503 to constrain Hubble's constant. Despite the absence of a source redshift, the utility of the system as a probe of the structure of the lens galaxy is unparalleled as it provides a surfeit of easily identifiable constraints for modelling the system.     

The dependence of quasar variability on black hole mass

In order to investigate the dependence of quasar variability on fundamental physical parameters like black hole mass, we have matched quasars from the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team, Phase 1 (QUEST1) variability survey with broad-lined objects from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The matched sample contains ≈100 quasars, and the Sloan spectra are used to estimate black hole masses and bolometric luminosities. Variability amplitudes are measured from the QUEST1 light curves. We find that black hole mass correlates with several measures of the variability amplitude at the 99 per cent significance level or better. The correlation does not appear to be caused by obvious selection effects inherent to flux-limited quasar samples, host galaxy contamination or other well-known correlations between quasar variability and luminosity/redshift. We evaluate variability as a function of rest-frame time lag using structure functions and find further support for the variability–black hole mass correlation. The correlation is strongest for time lags of the order of a few months up to the QUEST1 maximum temporal resolution of ≈2 yr, and may provide important clues for understanding the long-standing problem of the origin of quasar optical variability. We discuss whether our result is a manifestation of a relation between characteristic variability time-scale and black hole mass, where the variability time-scale is typical for accretion disc thermal time-scales, but find little support for this. Our favoured explanation is that more massive black holes have larger variability amplitudes, and we highlight the need for larger samples with more complete temporal sampling to test the robustness of this result.     

Galaxy–dark matter correlations applied to galaxy–galaxy lensing: predictions from the semi-analytic galaxy formation models

We use semi-analytic models of galaxy formation combined with high-resolution N -body simulations to make predictions for galaxy–dark matter correlations and apply them to galaxy–galaxy lensing. We analyse cross-power spectra between the dark matter and different galaxy samples selected by luminosity, colour or star formation rate. We compare the predictions with the recent detection by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We show that the correlation amplitude and the mean tangential shear depend strongly on the luminosity of the sample on scales below 1  h ⁻¹ Mpc, reflecting the correlation between the galaxy luminosity and the halo mass. The cross-correlation cannot, however, be used to infer the halo profile directly because different halo masses dominate on different scales and because not all galaxies are at the centres of the corresponding haloes. We compute the redshift evolution of the cross-correlation amplitude and compare it with those of galaxies and dark matter. We also compute the galaxy–dark matter correlation coefficient and show that it is close to unity on scales above 1  h ⁻¹ Mpc for all considered galaxy types. This would allow one to extract the bias and the dark matter power spectrum on large scales from the galaxy and galaxy–dark matter correlations.     

Two new large-separation gravitational lenses from SDSS

We present discovery images, together with follow-up imaging and spectroscopy, of two large-separation gravitational lenses found by our survey for wide arcs [the CAmbridge Sloan Survey Of Wide ARcs in the skY (CASSOWARY)]. The survey exploits the multicolour photometry of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to find multiple blue components around red galaxies. CASSOWARY 2 (or 'the Cheshire Cat') is composed of two massive early-type galaxies at   z = 0.426  and 0.432, respectively, lensing two background sources, the first a star-forming galaxy at   z = 0.97  and the second a high -redshift galaxy  ( z > 1.4)  . There are at least three images of the former source and probably four or more of the latter, arranged in two giant arcs. The mass enclosed within the larger arc of radius ∼11 arcsec is  ∼33 × 10¹² M_⊙  . CASSOWARY 3 comprises an arc of three bright images of a   z = 0.725  source, lensed by a foreground elliptical at   z = 0.274  . The radius of the arc is ∼4 arcsec and the enclosed mass is  ∼2.5 × 10¹² M_⊙  . Together with earlier discoveries like the Cosmic Horseshoe and the 8 o'clock Arc, these new systems, with separations intermediate between the arcsecond-separation lenses of typical strong galaxy lensing and arcminute-separation cluster lenses, probe the very high end of the galaxy mass function.     

Discovery of four gravitational lensing systems by clusters in the SDSS DR6

We report the discovery of 4 strong gravitational lensing systems by visual inspections of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey images of galaxy clusters in Data Release 6 (SDSS DR6). Two of the four systems show Einstein rings while the others show tangen-tial giant arcs. These arcs or rings have large angular separations ( 8") from the bright central galaxies and show bluer color compared with the red cluster galaxies. In addition,we found 5 probable and 4 possible lenses by galaxy clusters.     

Modelling galaxy–galaxy weak lensing with Sloan Digital Sky Survey groups

We use galaxy groups selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) together with mass models for individual groups to study the galaxy–galaxy lensing signals expected from galaxies of different luminosities and morphological types. We compare our model predictions with the observational results obtained from the SDSS by Mandelbaum et al. for the same samples of galaxies. The observational results are well reproduced in a Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model based on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) 3-yr data, but a ΛCDM model with higher σ₈, such as the one based on the WMAP 1-yr data, significantly overpredicts the galaxy–galaxy lensing signal. We model, separately, the contributions to the galaxy–galaxy lensing signals from different galaxies: central versus satellite, early type versus late type and galaxies in haloes of different masses. We also examine how the predicted galaxy–galaxy lensing signal depends on the shape, density profile and the location of the central galaxy with respect to its host halo.     

Simulating wide-field quasar surveys from the optical to near-infrared

A number of deep, wide-field, near-infrared (NIR) surveys employing new infrared cameras on 4-m class telescopes are about to commence. These surveys have the potential to determine the fraction of luminous dust-obscured quasars that may have eluded surveys undertaken at optical wavelengths. In order to understand the new observations it is essential to make accurate predictions of surface densities and number–redshift relations for unobscured quasars in the NIR based on information from surveys at shorter wavelengths. The accuracy of the predictions depends critically on a number of key components. The commonly used single power-law representation for quasar spectral energy distributions (SEDs) is inadequate and the use of an SED incorporating the upturn in continuum flux at  λ∼ 12 000 Å  is essential. The presence of quasar host galaxies is particularly important over the rest-frame wavelength interval  8000 < λ < 16 000 Å  and we provide an empirical determination of the magnitude distribution of host galaxies using a low-redshift sample of quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 3 quasar catalogue. A range of models for the dependence of host galaxy luminosity on quasar luminosity is investigated, along with the implications for the NIR surveys. Even adopting a conservative model for the behaviour of host galaxy luminosity the number counts for shallow surveys in the K band increase by a factor of 2. The degree of morphological selection applied to define candidate quasar samples in the NIR is found to be an important factor in determining the fraction of the quasar population included in such samples.     

Probing subparsec structure in the Lyman α forest with gravitational microlensing

We present the results of microlens ray-tracing simulations showing the effect of absorbing material between a source quasar and a lensing galaxy in a gravitational lens system. We find that, in addition to brightness fluctuations due to microlensing, the strength of the absorption line relative to the continuum varies with time, with the properties of the variations depending on the structure of the absorbing material. We conclude that such variations will be measurable via ultraviolet spectroscopy of image A of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 if the Lyman α clouds between the quasar and the lensing galaxy possess structure on scales smaller than ∼0.1 pc. The time-scale for the variations is on the order of years to decades, although very short-term variability can occur. While the Lyman α lines may not be accessible at all wavelengths, this approach is applicable to any absorption system, including metal lines.     

Tracking the shadows through GMRT

The structures of faint high redshift galaxies cannot be observed directly. But if a luminous quasar is located farther along their line of sight, high resolution absorption lines offer a valuable and reliable probe to their structure. GMRT is suited to monitor the absorption spectra, if the redshifted neutral hydrogen or OH doublet fall in one of the windows of the telescope. We present the OH doublet absorption spectra for the system B0218+357, taken at GMRT this year at resolution of approx. 9.5 km/sec with an rms noise of the order of 1 mJy. Based on our study of the OH doublet and 21cm neutral hydrogen line we infer that, in the lensing spiral galaxy of B0218 + 357, neutral hydrogen and OH coexist in tenous clouds and there is possibly a hole in the central part of the galaxy. In contrast, the gas is seen in high density clouds in the lens in an otherwise similar system PKS1830-211.     

Optical spectroscopy of faint gigahertz peaked‐spectrum sources

We present spectroscopic observations of a sample of faint gigahertz peaked‐spectrum (GPS) radio sources drawn from the Westerbork Northern Sky Survey (WENSS). Redshifts have been determined for 19 (40 per cent) of the objects. The optical spectra of the GPS sources identified with low‐redshift galaxies show deep stellar absorption features. This confirms previous suggestions that their optical light is not significantly contaminated by active galactic nucleus-related emission, but is dominated by a population of old (>9 Gyr) and metal-rich (>0.2 [Fe/H]) stars, justifying the use of these (probably) young radio sources as probes of galaxy evolution. The optical spectra of GPS sources identified with quasars are indistinguishable from those of flat-spectrum quasars, and clearly different from the spectra of compact steep‐spectrum (CSS) quasars. The redshift distribution of the GPS quasars in our radio-faint sample is comparable to that of the bright samples presented in the literature, peaking at z ∼2–3. It is unlikely that a significant population of low-redshift GPS quasars is missed as a result of selection effects in our sample. We therefore claim that there is a genuine difference between the redshift distributions of GPS galaxies and quasars, which, because it is present in both the radio-faint and bright samples, cannot be caused by a redshift–luminosity degeneracy. It is therefore unlikely that the GPS quasars and galaxies are unified by orientation, unless the quasar opening angle is a strong function of redshift. We suggest that the GPS quasars and galaxies are unrelated populations and just happen to have identical observed radio spectral properties, and hypothesize that GPS quasars are a subclass of flat-spectrum quasars.     

Photometric redshifts for an optical/near-infrared catalogue in the Chandra Deep Field South

Photometric redshifts have proven a powerful tool in identifying galaxies over a large range of lookback times. We have been generalising this technique to incorporate the selection of candidate high redshift QSOs. We have applied this to a large optical/near-infrared imaging survey in 6 wavebands aiming to push farther in redshift (and fainter in luminosity) than previous studies. We believe that study of these very faint and distant objects provides valuable insights into galaxy formation and evolution. Here we present work in progress and preliminary results for a catalogue of objects detected as part of the Las Campanas Infrared Survey. This is a stepping stone to the type of survey data that will become available in the next few years from projects such as UKIDSS and VISTA. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.