1,095 research outputs found
RX J0911+05: A Massive Cluster Lens at z=0.769
We report the detection of a massive high-redshift cluster of galaxies near
the quadruple quasar RX J0911+05, using the LRIS instrument on the Keck-II
telescope. The cluster is found to have a mean redshift of =0.7689+/-0.002
and a velocity dispersion of sigma=836{+180-200} km/s, based on redshift
measurements for 24 member galaxies. This massive high-redshift cluster is the
origin of the unusually large external shear required by lensing models of the
quadruple quasar system. We predict the expected time delay depending on the
exact contribution of the cluster. A measurement of the time delay and further
deep lensing and X-ray observations will unravel useful properties of this
serendipitously discovered high-redshift cluster, and may put interesting
cosmological constraints on H0.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, 7 pages, 5 figure
A Test of the Collisional Dark Matter Hypothesis from Cluster Lensing
Spergel & Steinhardt proposed the possibility that the dark matter particles
are self-interacting, as a solution to two discrepancies between the
predictions of cold dark matter models and the observations: first, the
observed dark matter distribution in some dwarf galaxies has large,
constant-density cores, as opposed to the predicted central cusps; and second,
small satellites of normal galaxies are much less abundant than predicted. The
dark matter self-interaction would produce isothermal cores in halos, and would
also expel the dark matter particles from dwarfs orbiting within large halos.
However, another inevitable consequence of the model is that halos should
become spherical once most particles have interacted. Here, I rule out this
model by the fact that the innermost regions of dark matter halos in massive
clusters of galaxies are elliptical, as shown by gravitational lensing and
other observations. The absence of collisions in the lensing cores of massive
clusters implies that any dark matter self-interaction is too weak to have
affected the observed density profiles in the dark-matter dominated dwarf
galaxies, or to have eased the destruction of dwarf satellites in galactic
halos. If is the cross section and the mass of the dark matter
particle, then s_x/m_x < 10^{-25.5} \cm^2/\gev.Comment: to appear in ApJ, January 1 200
Gravitational Lensing in Clusters of Galaxies
Gravitational lensing in clusters of galaxies is an efficient tool to probe
the mass distribution of galaxies and clusters, high redshift objects thanks to
the gravitational amplification, and the geometry of the universe. We review
some important aspects of cluster lensing and related issues in observational
cosmology.Comment: invited review of the journal: Progress of Theoretical Physics (in
press) 51 pages - 33 figure
Extending the redshift distribution of submm galaxies: Identification of a z~4 submm galaxy
We present the identification of a bright submillimeter galaxy (SMG) in the
field of Abell 2218. The galaxy has a spectroscopic redshift of ~4, and is
currently the highest redshift SMG known. It is detected at all wavelengths
from optical to submm, including the Spitzer IRAC bands. We discuss the
properties of this galaxy, which is undergoing intense star formation at a
rate~600 Msun/yr. We also compare the properties to those of radio-preselected
submm-bright galaxies. The z~4 result extends the redshift distribution of
SMGs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses asp2004.sty. To appear in the proceedings of
the conference "Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy Evolution", Pasadena, CA,
14-16 November 2005, ed. R. Char
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