2,652 research outputs found
The X-shooter Lens Survey - II. Sample presentation and spatially resolved kinematics
We present the X-shooter Lens Survey (XLENS) data. The main goal of XLENS is
to disentangle the stellar and dark matter content of massive early-type
galaxies (ETGs), through combined strong gravitational lensing, dynamics and
spectroscopic stellar population studies. The sample consists of 11 lens
galaxies covering the redshift range from to and having stellar
velocity dispersions between and . All
galaxies have multi-band, high-quality HST imaging. We have obtained long-slit
spectra of the lens galaxies with X-shooter on the VLT. We are able to
disentangle the dark and luminous mass components by combining lensing and
extended kinematics data-sets, and we are also able to precisely constrain
stellar mass-to-light ratios and infer the value of the low-mass cut-off of the
IMF, by adding spectroscopic stellar population information. Our goal is to
correlate these IMF parameters with ETG masses and investigate the relation
between baryonic and non-baryonic matter during the mass assembly and structure
formation processes. In this paper we provide an overview of the survey,
highlighting its scientific motivations, main goals and techniques. We present
the current sample, briefly describing the data reduction and analysis process,
and we present the first results on spatially resolved kinematics.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
A Determination of H_0 with the CLASS Gravitational Lens B1608+656: I. Time Delay Measurements with the VLA
We present the results of a program to monitor the four-image gravitational
lens B1608+656 with the VLA. The system was observed over a seven month period
from 1996 October to 1997 May. The 64 epochs of observation have an average
spacing of 3.6~d. The light curves of the four images of the background source
show that the flux density of the background source has varied at the ~5%
level. We measure time delays in the system based on common features that are
seen in all four light curves. The three independent time delays in the system
are found to be Delta t_{BA} = 31 +/- 7~d, Delta t_{BC} = 36 +/- 7~d, and Delta
t_{BD} = 76^{+9}_{-10}~d at 95% confidence. This is the first gravitational
lens system for which three independent time delays have been measured. A
companion paper presents a mass model for the lensing galaxy which correctly
reproduces the observed image positions, flux density ratios, and time delay
ratios. The last condition is crucial for determining H_0 with a four-image
lens. We combine the time delays with the model to obtain a value for the
Hubble constant of H_0 = 59^{+8}_{-7} km/s/Mpc at 95% confidence (statistical)
for (Omega_M, Omega_{Lambda}) = (1,0). In addition, there is an estimated
systematic uncertainty of +/- 15 km/s/Mpc from uncertainties in modeling the
radial mass profiles of the lensing galaxies. The value of H_0 presented in
this paper is comparable to recent measurements of H_0 from the gravitational
lenses 0957+561, PG1115+080, B0218+357, and PKS1830-211.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 20 pages, 13 figure
Lens Galaxy Properties of SBS1520+530: Insights from Keck Spectroscopy and AO Imaging
We report on an investigation of the SBS 1520+530 gravitational lens system
and its environment using archival HST imaging, Keck spectroscopic data, and
Keck adaptive-optics imaging. The AO imaging has allowed us to fix the lens
galaxy properties with a high degree of precision when performing the lens
modeling, and the data indicate that the lens has an elliptical morphology and
perhaps a disk. The new spectroscopic data suggest that previous determinations
of the lens redshift may be incorrect, and we report an updated, though
inconclusive, value z_lens = 0.761. We have also spectroscopically confirmed
the existence of several galaxy groups at approximately the redshift of the
lens system. We create new models of the lens system that explicitly account
for the environment of the lens, and we also include improved constraints on
the lensing galaxy from our adaptive-optics imaging. Lens models created with
these new data can be well-fit with a steeper than isothermal mass slope (alpha
= 2.29, with the density proportional to r^-alpha) if H_0 is fixed at 72
km/s/Mpc; isothermal models require H_0 ~ 50 km/s/Mpc. The steepened profile
may indicate that the lens is in a transient perturbed state caused by
interactions with a nearby galaxy.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Ap
The Hubble Constant from the Gravitational Lens B1608+656
We present a refined gravitational lens model of the four-image lens system
B1608+656 based on new and improved observational constraints: (i) the three
independent time-delays and flux-ratios from VLA observations, (ii) the
radio-image positions from VLBA observations, (iii) the shape of the
deconvolved Einstein Ring from optical and infrared HST images, (iv) the
extinction-corrected lens-galaxy centroids and structural parameters, and (v) a
stellar velocity dispersion, sigma_ap=247+-35 km/s, of the primary lens galaxy
(G1), obtained from an echelle spectrum taken with the Keck--II telescope. The
lens mass model consists of two elliptical mass distributions with power-law
density profiles and an external shear, totaling 22 free parameters, including
the density slopes which are the key parameters to determine the value of H_0
from lens time delays. This has required the development of a new lens code
that is highly optimized for speed. The minimum-chi^2 model reproduces all
observations very well, including the stellar velocity dispersion and the shape
of the Einstein Ring. A combined gravitational-lens and stellar dynamical
analysis leads to a value of the Hubble Constant of H_0=75(+7/-6) km/s/Mpc (68
percent CL; Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7. The non-linear error analysis
includes correlations between all free parameters, in particular the density
slopes of G1 and G2, yielding an accurate determination of the random error on
H_0. The lens galaxy G1 is ~5 times more massive than the secondary lens galaxy
(G2), and has a mass density slope of gamma_G1=2.03(+0.14/-0.14) +- 0.03 (68
percent CL) for rho~r^-gamma', very close to isothermal (gamma'=2). (Abridged)Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables; revised version with correct fig.6 and
clarified text based on referee report; conclusions unchange
Worden psychofarmaca in het verpleeghuis te vaak voorgeschreven?
Worden psychofarmaca in verpleeghuizen te vaak voorgeschreven? Onder deze titel publiceerden collega’s Ribbe en Hertogh
in 1993 een artikel in het Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde. 1 Hoewel zij geen antwoord geven op hun normatieve
vraag in de titel, houden zij wel een pleidooi voor de combinatie van een medicamenteuze en niet-medicamenteuze
behandeling. Met name de niet-medicamenteuze benadering, die doorgaans door de verzorgenden wordt toegepast, heeft
een ‘draagkrachtversterkend’ effect, waarbij niet zozeer het gedrag van de patiënt verandert, aldus de auteurs, als wel de
kwalificatie daarvan als ‘problematisch’
A Determination of H_0 with the CLASS Gravitational Lens B1608+656: III. A Significant Improvement in the Precision of the Time Delay Measurements
The gravitational lens CLASS B1608+656 is the only four-image lens system for
which all three independent time delays have been measured. This makes the
system an excellent candidate for a high-quality determination of H_0 at
cosmological distances. However, the original measurements of the time delays
had large (12-20%) uncertainties, due to the low level of variability of the
background source during the monitoring campaign. In this paper, we present
results from two additional VLA monitoring campaigns. In contrast to the ~5%
variations seen during the first season of monitoring, the source flux density
changed by 25-30% in each of the subsequent two seasons. We analyzed the
combined data set from all three seasons of monitoring to improve significantly
the precision of the time delay measurements; the delays are consistent with
those found in the original measurements, but the uncertainties have decreased
by factors of two to three. We combined the delays with revised isothermal mass
models to derive a measurement of H_0. Depending on the positions of the galaxy
centroids, which vary by up to 0.1 arcsec in HST images obtained with different
filters, we obtain H_0 = 61-65 km/s/Mpc, for (Omega_M,Omega_L) = (0.3,0.7). The
value of H_0 decreases by 6% if (Omega_M,Omega_L) = (1.0,0.0). The formal
uncertainties on H_0 due to the time delay measurements are +/- 1 (+/- 2)
km/s/Mpc for the 1-sigma (2-sigma) confidence limits. Thus, the systematic
uncertainties due to the lens model, which are on the order of +/- 15 km/s/Mpc,
now dominate the error budget for this system. In order to improve the
measurement of H_0 with this lens, new models that incorporate the constraints
provided by stellar dynamics and the optical/infrared Einstein ring seen in HST
images must be developed.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 32 pages, 8 figures (3 in color
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
Golden gravitational lensing systems from the Sloan Lens ACS Survey. I. SDSS J1538+5817: one lens for two sources
We present a lensing and photometric study of the exceptional system SDSS
J1538+5817, identified by the SLACS survey. The lens is a luminous elliptical
at redshift z=0.143. Using HST public images in two different filters, the
presence of two background sources lensed into an Einstein ring and a double
system is ascertained. Our new spectroscopic observations, performed at the
NOT, reveal that the two sources are located at the same redshift z=0.531. We
investigate the total mass distribution of the lens between 1 and 4 kpc from
the galaxy center by means of parametric and non-parametric lensing codes that
describe the multiple images as point-like objects. Several disparate lensing
models agree on: (1) reproducing accurately the observed image positions; (2)
predicting a nearly axisymmetric total mass distribution, centered and oriented
as the light distribution; (3) measuring a value of 8.11 x 10^{10} M_{Sun} for
the total mass projected within the Einstein radius of 2.5 kpc; (4) estimating
a total mass density profile slightly steeper than an isothermal one. A fit of
the SDSS multicolor photometry with CSP models provides a value of 20 x 10^{10}
M_{Sun} for the total stellar mass of the galaxy and of 0.9 for the fraction of
projected luminous over total mass enclosed inside the Einstein radius. By
combining lensing and photometric mass measurements, we differentiate the lens
mass content in terms of luminous and dark matter components. This
two-component modeling, which is viable only in extraordinary systems like SDSS
J1538+5817, leads to a description of the global properties of the galaxy dark
matter halo. Extending these results to a larger number of lenses would improve
considerably our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution processes in
the LCDM scenario.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted by The Astrophysical Journa
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