A determination of H_0 with the CLASS gravitational lens B1608+656: II. Mass models and the Hubble constant from lensing

EDITED FROM PAPER: We present mass models of the four-image gravitational lens system B1608+656. A mass model for the lens galaxies has been determined that reproduces the image positions, two out of three flux-density ratios and the model time delays. Using the time delays determined by Fassnacht et al. (1999a), we find that the best isothermal mass model gives H_0=59^{+7}_{-6} km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=1 and Omega_l=0.0, or H_0=(65-63)^{+7}_{-6} km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_l = 0.0-0.7 (95.4% statistical confidence). A systematic error of +/-15 km/s/Mpc is estimated. This cosmological determination of H_0 agrees well with determinations from three other gravitational lens systems (i.e. B0218+357, Q0957+561 and PKS1830-211), SNe Ia, the S-Z effect and local determinations. The current agreement on H_0 from four out of five gravitational lens systems (i) emphasizes the reliability of its determination from isolated gravitational lens systems and (ii) suggests that a close-to-isothermal mass profile can describe disk galaxies, ellipticals and central cluster ellipticals. The average of H_0 from B0218+357, Q0957+561, B1608+656 and PKS1830-211, gives H_0(GL)=69 +/-7 km/s/Mpc for a flat universe with Omega_m=1 or H_0(GL)=74 +/-8 km/s/Mpc for Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_l=0.0-0.7. When including PG1115+080, these values decrease to 64 +/-11 km/s/Mpc and 68 +/-13 km/s/Mpc (2-sigma errors), respectively.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 34 pages, 4 figure

A time-delay determination from VLA light curves of the CLASS gravitational lens B1600+434

We present Very Large Array (VLA) 8.5-GHz light curves of the two lens images of the Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) gravitational lens B1600+434. We find a nearly linear decrease of 18-19% in the flux densities of both lens images over a period of eight months (February-October) in 1998. Additionally, the brightest image A shows modulations up to 11% peak-to-peak on scales of days to weeks over a large part of the observing period. Image B varies significantly less on this time scale. We conclude that most of the short-term variability in image A is not intrinsic source variability, but is most likely caused by microlensing in the lens galaxy. The alternative, scintillation by the ionized Galactic ISM, is shown to be implausible based on its strong opposite frequency dependent behavior compared with results from multi-frequency WSRT monitoring observations (Koopmans & de Bruyn 1999). From these VLA light curves we determine a median time delay between the lens images of 47^{+5}_{-6} d (68%) or 47^{+12}_{-9} d (95%). We use two different methods to derive the time delay; both give the same result within the errors. We estimate an additional systematic error between -8 and +7 d. If the mass distribution of lens galaxy can be described by an isothermal model (Koopmans, de Bruyn & Jackson 1998), this time delay would give a value for the Hubble parameter, H_0=57^{+14}_{-11} (95% statistical) ^{+26}_{-15} (systematic) km/s/Mpc (Omega_m=1 and Omega_Lambda=0). Similarly, the Modified-Hubble-Profile mass model would give H_0=74^{+18}_{-15} (95% statistical) ^{+22}_{-22} (systematic) km/s/Mpc. For Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_Lambda=0.7, these values increase by 5.4%. ... (ABRIDGED)Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Figs 1 and 3 with degraded resolution

Dissecting the Gravitational Lens B1608+656. II. Precision Measurements of the Hubble Constant, Spatial Curvature, and the Dark Energy Equation of State

Strong gravitational lens systems with measured time delays between the multiple images provide a method for measuring the "time-delay distance" to the lens, and thus the Hubble constant. We present a Bayesian analysis of the strong gravitational lens system B1608+656, incorporating (i) new, deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations, (ii) a new velocity dispersion measurement of 260+/-15 km/s for the primary lens galaxy, and (iii) an updated study of the lens' environment. When modeling the stellar dynamics of the primary lens galaxy, the lensing effect, and the environment of the lens, we explicitly include the total mass distribution profile logarithmic slope gamma' and the external convergence kappa_ext; we marginalize over these parameters, assigning well-motivated priors for them, and so turn the major systematic errors into statistical ones. The HST images provide one such prior, constraining the lens mass density profile logarithmic slope to be gamma'=2.08+/-0.03; a combination of numerical simulations and photometric observations of the B1608+656 field provides an estimate of the prior for kappa_ext: 0.10 +0.08/-0.05. This latter distribution dominates the final uncertainty on H_0. Compared with previous work on this system, the new data provide an increase in precision of more than a factor of two. In combination with the WMAP 5-year data set, we find that the B1608+656 data set constrains the curvature parameter to be -0.031 < Omega_k < 0.009 (95% CL), a level of precision comparable to that afforded by the current Type Ia SNe sample. Asserting a flat spatial geometry, we find that, in combination with WMAP, H_0 = 69.7 +4.9/-5.0 km/s/Mpc and w=-0.94 +0.17/-0.19 (68% CL), suggesting that the observations of B1608+656 constrain w as tightly as do the current Baryon Acoustic Oscillation data. (abridged)Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, revisions based on referee's comments, accepted for publication in Ap

The Environments of Low and High Luminosity Radio Galaxies at Moderate Redshifts

In the local Universe, high-power radio galaxies live in lower density environments than low-luminosity radio galaxies. If this trend continues to higher redshifts, powerful radio galaxies would serve as efficient probes of moderate redshift groups and poor clusters. Photometric studies of radio galaxies at 0.3 < z < 0.5 suggest that the radio luminosity-environment correlation disappears at moderate redshifts, though this could be the result of foreground/background contamination affecting the photometric measures of environment. We have obtained multi-object spectroscopy of in the fields of 14 lower luminosity (L_1.4GHz 1.2x10^25 W/Hz) radio galaxies at z ~ 0.3 to spectroscopically investigate the link between the environment and the radio luminosity of radio galaxies at moderate redshifts. Our results support the photometric analyses; there does not appear to be a correlation between the luminosity of a radio galaxy and its environment at moderate redshifts. Hence, radio galaxies are not efficient signposts for group environments at moderate redshifts.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in A

Mass along the Line of Sight to the Gravitational Lens B1608+656: Galaxy Groups and Implications for H_0

We report the discovery of four groups of galaxies along the line of sight to the B1608+656 gravitational lens system. One group is at the redshift of the primary lensing galaxy (z = 0.631) and appears to have a low mass, with eight spectroscopically confirmed members and an estimated velocity dispersion of 150 ± 60 km s^(-1). The three other groups are in the foreground of the lens. These groups contain ~10 confirmed members each and are located at redshifts of 0.265, 0.426, and 0.52. Two of the three additional groups are centered roughly on the lens system, while the third is centered ~1' south of the lens. We investigate the effect of each of the four groups on the gravitational lensing potential of the B1608+656 system, with a particular focus on the implications for the value of H_0 derived from this system. We find that each group provides an external convergence of ~0.005-0.060, depending on the assumptions made in the calculation. For the B1608+656 system, the stellar velocity dispersion of the lensing galaxy has been measured, thus breaking the mass sheet degeneracy due to the group that is physically associated with the lens. The effect of the other groups along the line of sight can be folded into the overall uncertainties due to large-scale structure (LSS) along the line of sight. Because B1608+656 appears to lie along an overdense line of sight, the LSS will cause the measurement of H_0 to be biased high for this system. This effect could be 5% or greater

Measuring gravitational lens time delays using low-resolution radio monitoring observations

Obtaining lensing time delay measurements requires long-term monitoring campaigns with a high enough resolution (< 1 arcsec) to separate the multiple images. In the radio, a limited number of high-resolution interferometer arrays make these observations difficult to schedule. To overcome this problem, we propose a technique for measuring gravitational time delays which relies on monitoring the total flux density with low-resolution but high-sensitivity radio telescopes to follow the variation of the brighter image. This is then used to trigger high-resolution observations in optimal numbers which then reveal the variation in the fainter image. We present simulations to assess the efficiency of this method together with a pilot project observing radio lens systems with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) to trigger Very Large Array (VLA) observations. This new method is promising for measuring time delays because it uses relatively small amounts of time on high-resolution telescopes. This will be important because instruments that have high sensitivity but limited resolution, together with an optimum usage of followup high-resolution observations from appropriate radio telescopes may in the future be useful for gravitational lensing time delay measurements by means of this new method.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted by MNRA