Examinando por Autor "Birrer S."
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Ítem J1721+8842: The first Einstein zigzag len(EDP Sciences, 0025-02) Dux F.; Millon M.; Lemon C.; Schmidt T.; Courbin F.; Shajib A.J.; Treu T.; Birrer S.; Wong K.C.; Agnello A.; Andrade A.; Galan A.We report the discovery of the first example of an Einstein zigzag lens, an extremely rare lensing configuration. In this system, J1721+8842, six images of the same background quasar are formed by two intervening galaxies, one at redshift z1 = 0.184 and another at z2 = 1.885. Two out of the six multiple images are deflected in opposite directions as they pass the first lens galaxy on one side and the second on the other side – the optical paths forming zigzags between the two deflectors. In this paper we demonstrate that J1721+8842, previously thought to be a lensed dual quasar, is in fact a compound lens, with the more distant lens galaxy also being distorted as an arc by the foreground galaxy. Evidence supporting this unusual lensing scenario includes: (1) identical light curves in all six lensed quasar images obtained from two years of monitoring at the Nordic Optical Telescope; (2) detection of the additional deflector at redshift z2 = 1.885 in JWST/NIRSpec integral field unit data; and (3) a multiple-plane lens model reproducing the observed image positions. This unique configuration offers the opportunity to combine two major lensing cosmological probes, time-delay cosmography and dual source-plane lensing, since J1721+8842 features multiple lensed sources that form two distinct Einstein radii of different sizes, one of which is a variable quasar. We expect to place tight constraints on H0 and w by combining these two probes of the same system. The z2 = 1.885 deflector, a quiescent galaxy, is also the highest-redshift strong galaxy-scale lens with a spectroscopic redshift measurement known to date. © The Authors 2025.Ítem STRIDES: Automated uniform models for 30 quadruply imaged quasars(Oxford University Press, 2023-01) Schmidt T.; Treu T.; Birrer S.; Shajib A.J.; Lemon C.; Millon M.; Sluse D.; Agnello A.; Anguita T.; Auger-Williams M.W.; McMahon R.G.; Motta V.; Spiniello C.; Kayo I.; Courbin F.; Ertl S.; Fassnacht C.D.; Frieman J.A.; More A.; Schuldt S.; Suyu S.H.; Aguena M.; Andrade-Oliveira F.; Annis J.; Bacon D.; Bertin E.; Brooks D.; Burke D.L.; Carnero Rosell A.; Carrasco Kind M.; Carretero J.; Conselice C.; Costanzi M.; Da Costa L.N.; Pereira M.E.S.; De Vicente J.; Desai S.; Doel P.; Everett S.; Ferrero I.; Friedel D.; García-Bellido J.; Gaztanaga E.; Gruen D.; Gruendl R.A.; Gschwend J.; Gutierrez G.; Hinton S.R.; Hollowood D.L.; Honscheid K.; James D.J.; Kuehn K.; Lahav O.; Menanteau F.; Miquel R.; Palmese A.; Paz-Chinchón F.; Pieres A.; Plazas Malagón A.A.; Prat J.; Rodriguez-Monroy M.; Romer A.K.; Sanchez E.; Scarpine V.; Sevilla-Noarbe I.; Smith M.; Suchyta E.; Tarle G.; To C.; Varga T.N.Gravitational time delays provide a powerful one-step measurement of H0, independent of all other probes. One key ingredient in time-delay cosmography are high-accuracy lens models. Those are currently expensive to obtain, both, in terms of computing and investigator time (105-106 CPU hours and ∼0.5-1 yr, respectively). Major improvements in modelling speed are therefore necessary to exploit the large number of lenses that are forecast to be discovered over the current decade. In order to bypass this roadblock, we develop an automated modelling pipeline and apply it to a sample of 31 lens systems, observed by the Hubble Space Telescope in multiple bands. Our automated pipeline can derive models for 30/31 lenses with few hours of human time and <100 CPU hours of computing time for a typical system. For each lens, we provide measurements of key parameters and predictions of magnification as well as time delays for the multiple images. We characterize the cosmography-readiness of our models using the stability of differences in the Fermat potential (proportional to time delay) with respect to modelling choices. We find that for 10/30 lenses, our models are cosmography or nearly cosmography grade (<3 per cent and 3-5 per cent variations). For 6/30 lenses, the models are close to cosmography grade (5-10 per cent). These results utilize informative priors and will need to be confirmed by further analysis. However, they are also likely to improve by extending the pipeline modelling sequence and options. In conclusion, we show that uniform cosmography grade modelling of large strong lens samples is within reach. © 2022 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.Ítem STRIDES: Spectroscopic and photometric characterization of the environment and effects of mass along the line of sight to the gravitational lenses des J0408-5354 and WGD 2038-4008(Oxford University Press, 2020-11-01) Buckley-Geer E.J.; Lin H.; Rusu C.E.; Poh J.; Palmese A.; Agnello A.; Christensen L.; Frieman J.; Shajib A.J.; Treu T.; Collett T.; Birrer S.; Anguita T.; Fassnacht C.D.; Meylan G.; Mukherjee S.; Wong K.C.; Aguena M.; Allam S.; Avila S.; Bertin E.; Bhargava S.; Brooks D.; Carnero Rosell A.; Carrasco Kind M.; Carretero J.; Castander F.J.; Costanzi M.; Da Costa L.N.; De Vicente J.; Desai S.; Diehl H.T.; Doel P.; Eifler T.F.; Everett S.; Flaugher B.; Fosalba P.; Garciá-Bellido J.; Gaztanaga E.; Gruen D.; Gruendl R.A.; Gschwend J.; Gutierrez G.; Hinton S.R.; Honscheid K.; James D.J.; Kuehn K.; Kuropatkin N.; Maia M.A.G.; Marshall J.L.; Melchior P.; Menanteau F.; Miquel R.; Ogando R.L.C.; Paz-Chinchón F.; Plazas A.A.; Sanchez E.; Scarpine V.; Schubnell M.In time-delay cosmography, three of the key ingredients are (1) determining the velocity dispersion of the lensing galaxy, (2) identifying galaxies and groups along the line of sight with sufficient proximity and mass to be included in the mass model, and (3) estimating the external convergence κext from less massive structures that are not included in the mass model. We present results on all three of these ingredients for two time-delay lensed quad quasar systems, DES J0408-5354 and WGD 2038-4008. We use the Gemini, Magellan, and VLT telescopes to obtain spectra to both measure the stellar velocity dispersions of the main lensing galaxies and to identify the line-of-sight galaxies in these systems. Next, we identify 10 groups in DES J0408-5354 and two groups in WGD 2038-4008 using a group-finding algorithm. We then identify the most significant galaxy and galaxy-group perturbers using the 'flexion shift' criterion. We determine the probability distribution function of the external convergence κext for both of these systems based on our spectroscopy and on the DES-only multiband wide-field observations. Using weighted galaxy counts, calibrated based on the Millennium Simulation, we find that DES J0408-5354 is located in a significantly underdense environment, leading to a tight (width ∼ 3%), negative-value κext distribution. On the other hand, WGD 2038-4008 is located in an environment of close to unit density, and its low source redshift results in a much tighter κext of ~1%, as long as no external shear constraints are imposed.