SDSS J2222+2745: A GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED SEXTUPLE QUASAR WITH A MAXIMUM IMAGE SEPARATION OF 15.''1 DISCOVERED IN THE SLOAN GIANT ARCS SURVEY
- Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029, Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbackstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching bei Muenchen (Germany)
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
- Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen O (Denmark)
We report the discovery of a unique gravitational lens system, SDSS J2222+2745, producing five spectroscopically confirmed images of a z{sub s} = 2.82 quasar lensed by a foreground galaxy cluster at z{sub l} = 0.49. We also present photometric and spectroscopic evidence for a sixth lensed image of the same quasar. The maximum separation between the quasar images is 15.''1. Both the large image separations and the high image multiplicity are in themselves rare among known lensed quasars, and observing the combination of these two factors is an exceptionally unlikely occurrence in present data sets. This is only the third known case of a quasar lensed by a cluster, and the only one with six images. The lens system was discovered in the course of the Sloan Giant Arcs Survey, in which we identify candidate lenses in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and target these for follow-up and verification with the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope. Multi-band photometry obtained over multiple epochs from 2011 September to 2012 September reveals significant variability at the {approx}10%-30% level in some of the quasar images, indicating that measurements of the relative time delay between quasar images will be feasible. In this lens system, we also identify a bright (g = 21.5) giant arc corresponding to a strongly lensed background galaxy at z{sub s} = 2.30. We fit parametric models of the lens system, constrained by the redshift and positions of the quasar images and the redshift and position of the giant arc. The predicted time delays between different pairs of quasar images range from {approx}100 days to {approx}6 yr.
- OSTI ID:
- 22130967
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 773; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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