0000000000011808
AUTHOR
Evencio Mediavilla
THE AVERAGE SIZE AND TEMPERATURE PROFILE OF QUASAR ACCRETION DISKS
We use multi-wavelength microlensing measurements of a sample of 10 image pairs from 8 lensed quasars to study the structure of their accretion disks. By using spectroscopy or narrow band photometry we have been able to remove contamination from the weakly microlensed broad emission lines, extinction and any uncertainties in the large-scale macro magnification of the lens model. We determine a maximum likelihood estimate for the exponent of the size versus wavelength scaling ($r_s\propto \lambda^p$ corresponding to a disk temperature profile of $T\propto r^{-1/p}$) of $p=0.75^{+0.2}_{-0.2}$, and a Bayesian estimate of $p=0.8\pm0.2$, which are significantly smaller than the prediction of thi…
Study of the Extended Narrow‐Line Region in the Host Galaxy of the Lensed QSO 2237+0305 (z= 1.69)
The detection of spatially extended line emission in multiply imaged QSOs offers a new possibility to study the properties (kinematics and structure) of the ionized gas in the host galaxies of high-redshift QSOs. We have studied the arc of extended emission detected in Q2237+0305, finding that it arises from the core of the C III] λ1909 emission line and that the emission in the wings is compact. From the morphology of the emission-line profiles we have identified an additional narrow emission line component affecting the core of the spectra in the region of the arc (around component D). The kinematic analysis shows that the extended narrow-line region (NLR) exhibits broadening similar to t…
GLITP optical monitoring of QSO 0957+561: VR light curves and variability
The GLITP collaboration observed the first gravitational lens system (QSO 0957+561) from 2000 February 3 to 2000 March 31. The daily VR observations were made with the 2.56-m Nordic Optical Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma (Spain). We have derived detailed and robust VR light curves of the two components Q0957+561A and Q0957+561B. In spite of the excellent sampling rate, we have not found evidence in favor of true daily variability. With respect to variability on time-scales of several weeks, we measure VR gradients of about -0.8 mmag/day in Q0957+561A and + 0.3 mmag/day in Q0957+561B. The gradients are very probably originated in the far source, thus adopting this …
New VR magnification ratios of QSO 0957+561
We present VR magnification ratios of QSO 0957+561, which are inferred from the GLITP light curves of Q0957+561A and new frames taken with the 2.56m Nordic Optical Telescope about 14 months after the GLITP monitoring. From two photometric approaches and a reasonable range for the time delay in the system (415-430 days), we do not obtain achromatic optical continuum ratios, but ratios depending on the wavelength. These new measurements are consistent with differential extinction in the lens galaxy, the Lyman limit system, the damped Ly-alpha system, or the host galaxy of the QSO. The possible values for the differential extinction and the ratio of total to selective extinction in the V band …
Microlensing of the broad emission lines in 27 gravitationally lensed quasars. Broad line region structure and kinematics
We thank the anonymous referee for the helpful comments and the constructive remarks on this manuscript. C.F. acknowledges the financial support the Tel Aviv University and University of Haifa through a DFG grant HA3555-14/1. E.M. and J.A.M are supported by the Spanish MINECO with the grants AYA2016- 79104-C3-1-P and AYA2016-79104-C3-3-P. J.A.M. is also supported from the Generalitat Valenciana project of excellence Prometeo/2020/085. J.J.V. is supported by the project AYA2017-84897-P financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competividad and by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), and by project FQM-108 financed by Junta de Andalucia. V.M. acknowledges partial support f…
OBSERVATIONS OF THE LENSED QUASAR Q2237+0305 WITH CANARICAM AT GTC
We present new mid-IR observations of the quadruply lensed quasar Q2237+0305 taken with CanariCam on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Mid-IR emission by hot dust, unlike the optical and near-IR emission from the accretion disk, is unaffected by the interstellar medium (extinction/scattering) or stellar microlensing. We compare these "true" ratios to the (stellar) microlensed flux ratios observed in the optical/near-IR to constrain the structure of the quasar accretion disk. We find a half-light radius of $R_{1/2}=3.4_{-2.1}^{+5.3}\sqrt{\langle M \rangle/0.3\,\rm{M_{\odot}}}$ light-days at $\lambda_{rest}=1736$ {\AA}, and an exponent for the temperature profile $R \propto \lambda^{p}$ of $p=0.7…
The Redshift Distribution of Flat-Spectrum Radio Sources
The redshift distribution of flat-spectrum radio sources with 5 GHz flux densities S>5 mJy is a key component in using current radio lens surveys to probe the cosmological model. We have constructed the first flat-spectrum radio sample in the flux density range 3-20 mJy. Our new sample has 33 sources; we have determined the redshifts of 14 of these (42% complete). The low mean redshift, ~0.75, of our faintest sample needs to be confirmed by further observations to improve the sample completeness. We also increased the redshift completeness of several surveys of brighter flat-spectrum sources. While the mean redshift, ~1.1 of flat-spectrum samples fainter than 1 Jy is nearly constant, the fr…
Measuring Supermassive Black Hole Masses: Correlation between the Redshifts of the Fe III UV Lines and the Widths of Broad Emission Lines
We test the recently proposed (Mediavilla et al. 2018) black hole mass scaling relationship based on the redshift {with respect to the quasar's rest frame} of the Fe III$\lambda\lambda$2039-2113 line blend. To this end, we fit this feature in the spectra of a well suited sample of quasars, observed with X-shooter at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), whose masses have been independently estimated using the virial theorem. For the quasars of this sample we consistently confirm the redshift of the Fe III$\lambda\lambda$2039-2113 blend and find that it correlates with the squared widths of H$\beta$, H$\alpha$ and Mg II, which are commonly used as a measure of $M_{BH}/R$ to determine masses from t…
The extinction law in high redshift galaxies
We estimate the dust extinction laws in two intermediate redshift galaxies. The dust in the lens galaxy of LBQS1009-0252, which has an estimated lens redshift of zl~0.88, appears to be similar to that of the SMC with no significant feature at 2175 A. Only if the lens galaxy is at a redshift of zl~0.3, completely inconsistent with the galaxy colors, luminosity or location on the fundamental plane, can the data be fit with a normal Galactic extinction curve. The dust in the zl=0.68 lens galaxy for B0218+357, whose reddened image lies behind a molecular cloud, requires a very flat ultraviolet extinction curve with (formally) R(V)=12 +- 2. Both lens systems seem to have unusual extinction curve…
A Study of the Correlation between the Amplification of the Fe Kα Line and the X‐Ray Continuum of Quasars due to Microlensing
The observed enhancement of the Fe Kα line in three gravitationally lensed QSOs (MG J0414+0534, QSO 2237+0305, and H1413+117) is interpreted in terms of microlensing, even when equivalent X-ray continuum amplification is not observed. In order to interpret these observations, first we studied the effects of microlensing on quasar spectra produced by a straight fold caustic crossing over a standard relativistic accretion disk. The disk emission was analyzed using the ray-tracing method, considering Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics. When the emission is separated into two regions (an inner disk corresponding to the Fe Kα line and an outer annulus corresponding to the continuum, or vice versa), …
A Study of Gravitational Lens Chromaticity using Ground-based Narrow Band Photometry
We present observations of wavelength-dependent flux ratios for four gravitational lens systems (SDSS~J1650+4251, HE~0435$-$1223, FBQ 0951+2635, and Q~0142$-$100) obtained with the Nordic Optical Telescope. The use of narrowband photometry, as well as the excellent seeing conditions during the observations, allows us to study their chromatic behavior. For SDSS~J1650+4251, we determine the extinction curve of the dust in the $z_L=0.58$ lens galaxy and find that the 2175 \AA \ feature is absent. In the case of HE~0435$-$1223, we clearly detect chromatic microlensing. This allows us to estimate the wavelength-dependent size of the accretion disk. We find an R-band disk size of $r^{R}_s=13\pm5$…
PROBING THE DARK MATTER RADIAL PROFILE IN LENS GALAXIES AND THE SIZE OF X-RAY EMITTING REGION IN QUASARS WITH MICROLENSING
We use X-ray and optical microlensing measurements to study the shape of the dark matter density profile in the lens galaxies and the size of the (soft) X-ray emission region. We show that single epoch X-ray microlensing is sensitive to the source size. Our results, in good agreement with previous estimates, show that the size of the X-ray emission region scales roughly linearly with the black hole mass, with a half-light radius of where . This corresponds to a size of or ?1 lt-day for a black hole mass of . We simultaneously estimated the fraction of the local surface mass density in stars, finding that the stellar mass fraction is ? = 0.20 ? 0.05 at an average radius of , where Re is the …
Limits on the Mass and Abundance of Primordial Black Holes from Quasar Gravitational Microlensing
The idea that dark matter can be made of intermediate-mass primordial black holes in the $10M_\odot \lesssim M \lesssim 200M_\odot$ range has recently been reconsidered, particularly in the light of the detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO experiment. The existence of even a small fraction of dark matter in black holes should nevertheless result in noticeable quasar gravitational microlensing. Quasar microlensing is sensitive to any type of compact objects in the lens galaxy, to their abundance, and to their mass. We have analyzed optical and X-ray microlensing data from 24 gravitationally lensed quasars to estimate the abundance of compact objects in a very wide range of masses. We…
A Robust Determination of the size of quasar accretion disks using gravitational microlensing
Using microlensing measurements from a sample of 27 image-pairs of 19 lensed quasars we determine a maximum likelihood estimate for the accretion disk size of an {{\em}average} quasar of $r_s=4.0^{+2.4}_{-3.1} $ light days at rest frame $=1736$\AA\ for microlenses with a mean mass of $=0.3M_\odot$. This value, in good agreement with previous results from smaller samples, is roughly a factor of 5 greater than the predictions of the standard thin disk model. The individual size estimates for the 19 quasars in our sample are also in excellent agreement with the results of the joint maximum likelihood analysis.
Some topological properties of the Inverse Lens Mapping
Away from critical curves, lens mapping can be seen as a linear invertible transformation of the plane even for regions (cells) of relatively large size. However, close to critical curves the departures from linearity can be very strong. We discuss the topological problems induced by the mapping of regions of the image plane that include critical curves (critical cells).
The Impact of the Mass Spectrum of Lenses in Quasar Microlensing Studies. Constraints on a Mixed Population of Primordial Black Holes and Stars
We show that quasar microlensing magnification statistics induced by a population of point microlenses distributed according to a mass-spectrum can be very well approximated by that of a single-mass, "monochromatic", population. When the spatial resolution (physically defined by the source size) is small as compared with the Einstein radius, the mass of the monochromatic population matches the geometric mean of the mass-spectrum. Otherwise, the best-fit mass can be larger. Taking into account the degeneracy with the geometric mean, the interpretation of quasar microlensing observations under the hypothesis of a mixed population of primordial black holes and stars, makes the existence of a s…
Statistics of Microlensing Caustic Crossings in Q~2237+0305: Peculiar Velocity of the Lens Galaxy and Accretion Disk Size
We use the statistics of caustic crossings induced by microlensing in the lens system Q~2237+0305 to study the lens galaxy peculiar velocity. We calculate the caustic crossing rates for a comprehensive family of stellar mass functions and find a dependence of the average number of caustic crossings with the effective transverse velocity and the average mass, $\langle n \rangle \propto {v_{eff} / \sqrt{\langle m \rangle}}$, equivalent to the theoretical prediction for the case of microlenses with identical masses. We explore the possibilities of the method to measure $v_{eff}$ using the $\sim$12 years of OGLE monitoring of the four images of Q 2237+0305. To determine a lower limit for $v_{ef…
The First Precise Determination of an Optical–Far‐Ultraviolet Extinction Curve Beyond the Local Group ( \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape $z=0.83$ \end{document} )
We present the optical-far-ultraviolet extinction curve of the dust in the lens galaxy of the gravitational lens system SBS 0909+532 (z = 0.83). Extending our previous optical-UV estimate (from λ ~ 2 to 5 μm-1) into the far ultraviolet (from λ ~ 5 to 8 μm-1) is crucial for comparing with the extinction curves measured for Local Group galaxies in the spectral region where the differences are greatest. The SBS 0909+532 curve is similar to that of the LMC2 supershell, with a weaker 2175 A feature and a steeper rise into the UV than that observed in the Milky Way. The shapes of the extinction curve inferred from the quasar continuum and emission lines are in very good agreement. There is, howev…
Systematic Redshift of the Fe III UV Lines in Quasars. Measuring Supermassive Black Hole Masses under the Gravitational Redshift Hypothesis
We find that the Fe III$\lambda\lambda$2039-2113 spectral feature in quasars appears systematically redshifted by amounts accountable under the hypothesis of gravitational redshift induced by the central supermassive black hole. Our analysis of 27 composite spectra from the BOSS survey indicates that the redshift and the broadening of the lines in the Fe III$\lambda\lambda$2039-2113 blend roughly follow the expected correlation in the weak limit of Schwarzschild geometry for virialized kinematics. Assuming that the Fe III UV redshift provides a measure of $M_{BH}\over R$ (${\Delta \lambda\over \lambda}\simeq{3\over2}{G\over c^2} {M_{BH}\over R}$) and using different estimates of the emittin…
Microlensing of a Biconical Broad‐Line Region
The influence of microlensing in the profiles of the emission lines generated in a biconical geometry is discussed. Microlensing amplification in this anisotropic model is not directly related to the bicone's intrinsic size but depends on the orientation of the bicone axis and on the cone aperture. The orientation of the projected bicone with respect to the shear of the magnification pattern can induce very interesting effects, like the quasi-periodic enhancements of the red/blue part of the emission line profile or the lack of correlation between the broad line region (BLR) and continuum light curves of QSOs. The emission line profiles of a BLR moving in a high caustic concentration exhibi…
Detection of chromatic microlensing in Q 2237+0305 A
We present narrowband images of the gravitational lens system Q~2237+0305 made with the Nordic Optical Telescope in eight different filters covering the wavelength interval 3510-8130 \AA. Using point-spread function photometry fitting we have derived the difference in magnitude versus wavelength between the four images of Q~2237+0305. At $\lambda=4110$ \AA, the wavelength range covered by the Str\"omgren-v filter coincides with the position and width of the CIV emission line. This allows us to determine the existence of microlensing in the continuum and not in the emission lines for two images of the quasar. Moreover, the brightness of image A shows a significant variation with wavelength w…
A Fast and Very Accurate Approach to the Computation of Microlensing Magnification Patterns Based on Inverse Polygon Mapping
A new method of calculating microlensing magnification patterns is proposed that is based on the properties of the backward gravitational lens mapping of a lattice of polygonal cells defined at the image plane. To a first-order approximation, the local linearity of the transformation allows us to compute the contribution of each image-plane cell to the magnification by apportioning the area of the inverse image of the cell (transformed cell) among the source-plane pixels covered by it. Numerical studies in the κ = 0.1-0.8 range of mass surface densities demonstrate that this method (provided with an exact algorithm for distributing the area of the transformed cells among the source-plane pi…
A Study of Gravitational Lens Chromaticity with the Hubble Space Telescope
We report Hubble Space Telescope observations of 6 gravitational lenses with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. We measured the flux ratios between the lensed images in 6 filters from 8140\AA\ to 2200\AA. In 3 of the systems, HE0512$-$3329, B1600+434, and H1413+117, we were able to construct UV extinction curves partially overlapping the 2175\AA\ feature and characterize the properties of the dust relative to the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. In HE1104$-$1804 we detect chromatic microlensing and use it to study the physical properties of the quasar accretion disk. For a Gaussian model of the disk $\exp(-r^2/2 r_s^2)$, scaling with wavelength as $r_s \propto \lambda^p$, we estimate $r_s(\l…
Radiation forces and the formation of planetary systems
We briefly support on some new results about the influence of the rotation and finite size of a stellar radiation source on dust particle orbits, emphasizing the possibility of stable orbits, in the equatorial plane, for dust sizes near the radiation pressure limit.
LONG-TERM MONITORING, TIME DELAY, AND MICROLENSING IN THE GRAVITATIONAL LENS SYSTEM Q0142-100
We present twelve years of monitoring of the gravitational lens Q0142-100 from the Teide Observatory. The data, taken from 1999 to 2010, comprise 105 observing nights with the IAC80 telescope. The application of the delta2-method to the dataset leads to a value of the time delay between both components of the system of 72+/-22 days (68 per cent confidence level), consistent within the uncertainties with the latest previous results. With this value in mind a possible microlensing event is detected in Q0142-100.
Microlensing and Intrinsic Variability of the Broad Emission Lines of Lensed Quasars
We study the broad emission lines in a sample of 11 gravitationally lensed quasars with at least two epochs of observation to identify intrinsic variability and to disentangle it from microlensing. To improve our statistical significance and emphasize trends, we also include 15 lens systems with single-epoch spectra. Mg ii and C iii] emission lines are only weakly affected by microlensing, but C iv shows strong microlensing in some cases, even for regions of the line core, presumably associated with small projected velocities. However, excluding the strongly microlensed cases, there is a strikingly good match, on average, between the red wings of the C iv and C iii] profiles. Analysis of th…
Revealing the structure of the lensed quasar Q 0957+561. I. Accretion disk size
We thank the anonymous referee for the helpful comments, and constructive remarks on this manuscript. We thank the GLENDAMA project for making publicly available the monitoring data of Q 0957+561. C.F. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from Tel Aviv University and University of Haifa through a DFG grant HA3555-14/1. E.M. and J.A.M are supported by the Spanish MINECO with the grants AYA2016- 79104-C3-1-P and AYA2016-79104-C3-3-P. J.A.M. is also supported from the Generalitat Valenciana project of excellence Prometeo/2020/085. J.J.V. is supported by the project AYA2017-84897-P financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competividad and by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regi…
Measuring Microlensing using Spectra of Multiply Lensed Quasars
We report on a program of spectroscopic observations of gravitationally-lensed QSOs with multiple images. We seek to establish whether microlensing is occurring in each QSO image using only single-epoch observations. We calculate flux ratios for the cores of emission lines in image pairs to set a baseline for no microlensing. The offset of the continuum flux ratios relative to this baseline yields the microlensing magnification free from extinction, as extinction affects the continuum and the lines equally. When we find chromatic microlensing, we attempt to constrain the size of the QSO accretion disk. SDSSJ1004+4112 and HE1104-1805 show chromatic microlensing with amplitudes $0.2< |\Delta …
Studying the microlenses mass function from statistical analysis of the caustic concentration
The statistical distribution of caustic crossings by the images of a lensed quasar depends on the properties of the distribution of microlenses in the lens galaxy. We use a procedure based in Inverse Polygon Mapping to easily identify the critical and caustic curves generated by a distribution of stars in the lens galaxy. We analyze the statistical distributions of the number of caustic crossings by a pixel size source for several projected mass densities and different mass distributions. We compare the results of simulations with theoretical binomial distributions. Finally we apply this method to the study of the stellar mass distribution in the lens galaxy of QSO 2237+0305.
Microlensing of Quasar Broad Emission Lines: Constraints on Broad Line Region Size
We measure the differential microlensing of the broad emission lines between 18 quasar image pairs in 16 gravitational lenses. We find that high ionization lines such as CIV are more strongly microlensed than low ionization lines, indicating that the high ionization line emission regions are more compact. If we statistically model the distribution of microlensing magnifications, we obtain estimates for the broad line region radius of 24 (-15/+22) and 55 (-35/+150) light-days (90% confidence) for the high and low ionization lines, respectively. When the sample is divided attending to quasar luminosity, we find that the line emission regions of more luminous quasars are larger, with a slope c…
Strong Chromatic Microlensing in HE0047-1756 and SDSS1155+6346
We use spectra of the double lensed quasars HE0047-1756 and SDSS1155+6346 to study their unresolved structure through the impact of microlensing. There is no significant evidence of microlensing in the emission line profiles except for the Ly$\alpha$ line of SDSS1155+6346, which shows strong differences in the shapes for images A and B. However, the continuum of the B image spectrum in SDSS1155+6346 is strongly contaminated by the lens galaxy and these differences should be considered with caution. Using the flux ratios of the emission lines for image pairs as a baseline to remove macro-magnification and extinction, we have detected strong chromatic microlensing in the continuum measured by…