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Register a new userRELICS: Strong-lensing analysis of the massive clusters MACS J0308.9+2645 and PLCK G171.9-40.7
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Strong gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters has become a powerful tool for probing the high-redshift Universe, magnifying distant and faint background galaxies. Reliable strong lensing (SL) models are crucial for determining the intrinsic properties of distant, magnified sources and for constructing their luminosity function. We present here the first SL analysis of MACS J0308.9+2645 and PLCK G171.9-40.7, two massive galaxy clusters imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope in the framework of the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS). We use the Light-Traces-Mass modeling technique to uncover sets of multiply imaged galaxies and constrain the mass distribution of the clusters. Our SL analysis reveals that both clusters have particularly large Einstein radii ($theta_E>30$ for a source redshift of $z_s=2$), providing fairly large areas with high magnifications, useful for high-redshift galaxy searches ($sim2$ arcmin$^{2}$ with $mu>5$ to $sim1$ arcmin$^{2}$ with $mu>10$, similar to a typical textit{Hubble Frontier Fields} cluster). We also find that MACS J0308.9+2645 hosts a promising, apparently bright (J$sim23.2-24.6$ AB), multiply imaged high-redshift candidate at $zsim6.4$. These images are amongst the brightest high-redshift candidates found in RELICS. Our mass models, including magnification maps, are made publicly available for the community through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.
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We present a strong-lensing analysis of four massive galaxy clusters imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope in the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey. We use a Light-Traces-Mass technique to uncover sets of multiply images and constrain the mass distribution of the clusters. These mass models are the first published for Abell S295 and MACS J0159.8-0849, and are improvements over previous models for Abell 697 and MACS J0025.4-1222. Our analysis for MACS J0025.4-1222 and Abell S295 shows a bimodal mass distribution supporting the merger scenarios proposed for these clusters. The updated model for MACS J0025.4-1222 suggests a substantially smaller critical area than previously estimated. For MACS J0159.8-0849 and Abell 697 we find a single peak and relatively regular morphology, revealing fairly relaxed clusters. Despite being less prominent lenses, three of these clusters seem to have lensing strengths, i.e. cumulative area above certain magnification, similar to the Hubble Frontier Fields clusters (e.g., A($mu>5$) $sim 1-3$ arcmin$^2$, A($mu>10$) $sim 0.5-1.5$ arcmin$^2$), which in part can be attributed to their merging configurations. We make our lens models publicly available through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Finally, using Gemini-N/GMOS spectroscopic observations we detect a single emission line from a high-redshift $J_{125}simeq25.7$ galaxy candidate lensed by Abell 697. While we cannot rule out a lower-redshift solution, we interpret the line as Ly$alpha$ at $z=5.800pm 0.001$, in agreement with its photometric redshift and dropout nature. Within this scenario we measure a Ly$alpha$ rest-frame equivalent width of $52pm22$ AA, and an observed Gaussian width of $117pm 15$ km/s.
Strong gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies probes the mass distribution at the core of each cluster and magnifies the universe behind it. MACS J0417.5-1154 at z=0.443 is one of the most massive clusters known based on weak lensing, X-ray, and Sunyaev-Zeldovich analyses. Here we compute a strong lens model of MACS J0417 based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging observations collected, in part, by the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS), and recently reported spectroscopic redshifts from the MUSE instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). We measure an Einstein radius of ThetaE=36 at z = 9 and a mass projected within 200 kpc of M(200 kpc) = 1.78+0.01-0.03x10**14Msol. Using this model, we measure a ratio between the mass attributed to cluster-member galaxy halos and the main cluster halo of order 1:100. We assess the probability to detect magnified high-redshift galaxies in the field of this cluster, both for comparison with RELICS HST results and as a prediction for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Guaranteed Time Observations upcoming for this cluster. Our lensing analysis indicates that this cluster has similar lensing strength to other clusters in the RELICS program. Our lensing analysis predicts a detection of at least a few z~6-8 galaxies behind this cluster, at odds with a recent analysis that yielded no such candidates in this field. Reliable strong lensing models are crucial for accurately predicting the intrinsic properties of lensed galaxies. As part of the RELICS program, our strong lensing model produced with the Lenstool parametric method is publicly available through the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST).
We present a statistical analysis of a sample of 20 strong lensing clusters drawn from the Local Cluster Substructure Survey (LoCuSS), based on high resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the cluster cores and follow-up spectroscopic observations using the Keck-I telescope. We use detailed parameterized models of the mass distribution in the cluster cores, to measure the total cluster mass and fraction of that mass associated with substructures within R<250kpc.These measurements are compared with the distribution of baryons in the cores, as traced by the old stellar populations and the X-ray emitting intracluster medium. Our main results include: (i) the distribution of Einstein radii is log-normal, with a peak and 1sigma width of <log(RE(z=2))>=1.16+/-0.28; (ii) we detect an X-ray/lensing mass discrepancy of <M_SL/M_X>=1.3 at 3 sigma significance -- clusters with larger substructure fractions displaying greater mass discrepancies, and thus greater departures from hydrostatic equilibrium; (iii) cluster substructure fraction is also correlated with the slope of the gas density profile on small scales, implying a connection between cluster-cluster mergers and gas cooling. Overall our results are consistent with the view that cluster-cluster mergers play a prominent role in shaping the properties of cluster cores, in particular causing departures from hydrostatic equilibrium, and possibly disturbing cool cores. Our results do not support recent claims that large Einstein radius clusters present a challenge to the CDM paradigm.
We present a comprehensive analysis of strong-lensing, weak-lensing shear and magnification data for a sample of 16 X-ray-regular and 4 high-magnification galaxy clusters selected from the CLASH survey. Our analysis combines constraints from 16-band HST observations and wide-field multi-color imaging taken primarily with Subaru/Suprime-Cam. We reconstruct surface mass density profiles of individual clusters from a joint analysis of the full lensing constraints, and determine masses and concentrations for all clusters. We find internal consistency of the ensemble mass calibration to be $le 5% pm 6%$ by comparison with the CLASH weak-lensing-only measurements of Umetsu et al. For the X-ray-selected subsample, we examine the concentration-mass relation and its intrinsic scatter using a Bayesian regression approach. Our model yields a mean concentration of $c|_{z=0.34} = 3.95 pm 0.35$ at $M_{200c} simeq 14times 10^{14}M_odot$ and an intrinsic scatter of $sigma(ln c_{200c}) = 0.13 pm 0.06$, in excellent agreement with LCDM predictions when the CLASH selection function based on X-ray morphological regularity and the projection effects are taken into account. We also derive an ensemble-averaged surface mass density profile for the X-ray-selected subsample by stacking their individual profiles. The stacked mass profile is well described by a family of density profiles predicted for cuspy dark-matter-dominated halos, namely, the NFW, Einasto, and DARKexp models, whereas the single power-law, cored isothermal and Burkert density profiles are disfavored by the data. We show that cuspy halo models that include the two-halo term provide improved agreement with the data. For the NFW halo model, we measure a mean concentration of $c_{200c} = 3.79^{+0.30}_{-0.28}$ at $M_{200c} = 14.1^{+1.0}_{-1.0}times 10^{14}M_odot$, demonstrating consistency between complementary analysis methods.
Cosmological cluster-scale strong gravitational lensing probes the mass distribution of the dense cores of massive dark matter halos and the structures along the line of sight from background sources to the observer. It is frequently assumed that the primary lens mass dominates the lensing, with the contribution of secondary masses along the line of sight being neglected. Secondary mass structures may, however, affect both the detectability of strong lensing in a given survey and modify the properties of the lensing that is detected. In this paper, we utilize a large cosmological N-body simulation and a multiple lens plane (and many source planes) ray-tracing technique to quantify the influence of line of sight halos on the detectability of cluster-scale strong lensing in a cluster sample with a mass limit that encompasses current cluster catalogs from the South Pole Telescope. We extract both primary and secondary halos from the Outer Rim simulation and consider two strong lensing realizations: one with only the primary halos included, and the other contains all secondary halos down to a mass limit. In both cases, we use the same source information extracted from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, and create realistic lensed images consistent with moderately deep ground-based imaging. The results demonstrate that down to the mass limit considered the total number of lenses is boosted by about 13-21% when considering the complete multi-halo lightcone. The increment in strong lens counts peaks at lens redshifts of 0.6 approximately with no significant effect at z<0.3. The strongest trends are observed relative to the primary halo mass, with no significant impact in the most massive quintile of the halo sample, but increasingly boosting the observed lens counts toward small primary halo masses, with an enhancement greater than 50% in the least massive quintile of the halo masses considered.
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