A strong-lens survey in AEGIS: The influence of large-scale structure

Leonidas A. Moustakas, Phil Marshall, Jeffrey A. Newman, Alison L. Coil, Michael C. Cooper, Marc Davis, Christopher D. Fassnacht, Puragra Guhathakurta, Andrew Hopkins, Anton Koekemoer, Nicholas P. Konidaris, Jennifer M. Lotz, Christopher N.A. Willmer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on a visual search for galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses over 650 arcmin2 of HST ACS (V606 and I814) imaging in the DEEP2 Extended Groth Strip. This field has Keck DEIMOS spectroscopy of ∼ 14,000 galaxies (∼ 75% complete to RAB < 24.1). We identify three strong galaxy-galaxy lenses: HST J141735+522646 is a previously known four-image lens (the "Cross"; zl, = 0.8106, zs = 3.40); HST J141820+523611 (the "Dewdrop"; zl = 0.5798, zs = 0.9818) features two pairs of arcs; and HST J141833+524352 (the "Anchor"; zl = 0.4625, no z s,) has one pair of arcs. Based on a normalized local density (1 + δ3), lenses are found to be in both under- and overdense local environments. All three lenses are fit well by singular isothermal ellipsoid models including external shear, with Xv2 ∼ 1. The model shears are ∼ 10%. Approximating all line-of-sight galaxies as singular isothermal sphere halos truncated at 200 h-1 kpc, with masses estimated through the Faber-Jackson relation, infers shears of ∼ 2%, much smaller than those required by the models. Therefore, the corresponding convergence estimates must also be suspect. If more realistic treatment of galaxies (and the large-scale structure that they are embedded in) were to match the inferred shears to the model shears, then the true convergence could be measured and the mass-sheet degeneracy broken.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)L31-L34
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume660
Issue number1 II
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2007

Keywords

  • Galaxies: high-redshift
  • Gravitational lensing
  • Large-scale structure of universe

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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