1. |
- Kelly, Patrick L., et al.
(author)
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Constraints on the Hubble constant from supernova Refsdal's reappearance
- 2023
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In: Science. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 380:6649
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The gravitationally lensed supernova Refsdal appeared in multiple images produced through gravitational lensing by a massive foreground galaxy cluster. After the supernova appeared in 2014, lens models of the galaxy cluster predicted that an additional image of the supernova would appear in 2015, which was subsequently observed. We use the time delays between the images to perform a blinded measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe, quantified by the Hubble constant (H0). Using eight cluster lens models, we infer kilometers per second per megaparsec. Using the two models most consistent with the observations, we find kilometers per second per megaparsec. The observations are best reproduced by models that assign dark-matter halos to individual galaxies and the overall cluster.
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2. |
- Meena, Ashish Kumar, et al.
(author)
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Two Lensed Star Candidates at z similar or equal to 4.8 behind the Galaxy Cluster MACS J0647.7+7015
- 2023
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the discovery of two extremely magnified lensed star candidates behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+015 using recent multiband James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam observations. The star candidates are seen in a previously known, z (phot) similar or equal to 4.8 dropout giant arc that straddles the critical curve. The candidates lie near the expected critical curve position, but lack clear counter-images on the other side of it, suggesting these are possibly stars undergoing caustic crossings. We present revised lensing models for the cluster, including multiply imaged galaxies newly identified in the JWST data, and use them to estimate background macro-magnifications of at least greater than or similar to 90 and greater than or similar to 50 at the positions of the two candidates, respectively. With these values, we expect effective, caustic-crossing magnifications of similar to[10(3)-10(5)] for the two star candidates. The spectral energy distributions of the two candidates match well the spectra of B-type stars with best-fit surface temperatures of similar to 10,000 K, and similar to 12,000 K, respectively, and we show that such stars with masses greater than or similar to 20 M (circle dot) and greater than or similar to 50 M (circle dot), respectively, can become sufficiently magnified to be observable. We briefly discuss other alternative explanations and conclude that these objects are likely lensed stars, but also acknowledge that the less-magnified candidate may alternatively reside in a star cluster. These star candidates constitute the second highest-redshift examples to date after Earendel at z (phot) similar or equal to 6.2, establishing further the potential of studying extremely magnified stars at high redshifts with JWST. Planned future observations, including with NIRSpec, will enable a more detailed view of these candidates in the near future.
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3. |
- Meena, Ashish Kumar, et al.
(author)
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Two Lensed Star Candidates at z ≃ 4.8 behind the Galaxy Cluster MACS J0647.7+7015
- 2023
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 944:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the discovery of two extremely magnified lensed star candidates behind the galaxy cluster MACS J0647.7+015 using recent multiband James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) NIRCam observations. The star candidates are seen in a previously known, zphot ≃ 4.8 dropout giant arc that straddles the critical curve. The candidates lie near the expected critical curve position, but lack clear counter-images on the other side of it, suggesting these are possibly stars undergoing caustic crossings. We present revised lensing models for the cluster, including multiply imaged galaxies newly identified in the JWST data, and use them to estimate background macro-magnifications of at least ≳90 and ≳50 at the positions of the two candidates, respectively. With these values, we expect effective, caustic-crossing magnifications of ∼[103–105] for the two star candidates. The spectral energy distributions of the two candidates match well the spectra of B-type stars with best-fit surface temperatures of ∼10,000 K, and ∼12,000 K, respectively, and we show that such stars with masses ≳20 M⊙ and ≳50 M⊙, respectively, can become sufficiently magnified to be observable. We briefly discuss other alternative explanations and conclude that these objects are likely lensed stars, but also acknowledge that the less-magnified candidate may alternatively reside in a star cluster. These star candidates constitute the second highest-redshift examples to date after Earendel at zphot ≃ 6.2, establishing further the potential of studying extremely magnified stars at high redshifts with JWST. Planned future observations, including with NIRSpec, will enable a more detailed view of these candidates in the near future.
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