arXiv subjects

Rodrigo A. Ibata

Publications and source records attributed to Rodrigo A. Ibata.

125 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2002

An investigation of gravitational lens determinations of H_o in quintessence cosmologies

There is growing evidence that the majority of the energy density of the universe is not baryonic or dark matter, rather it resides in an exotic component with negative pressure. The nature of this `quintessence' influences our view of the universe, modifying angular diameter and luminosity distances. Here, we examine the influence of a quintessence component upon gravitational lens time delays. As well as a static quintessence component, an evolving equation of state is also considered. It is found that the equation of state of the quintessence component and its evolution influence the value of the Hubble's constant derived from gravitational lenses. However, the differences between evolving and non-evolving cosmologies are relatively small. We undertake a suite of Monte Carlo simulations to examine the potential constraints that can be placed on the universal equation of state from the monitoring of gravitational lens system, and demonstrate that at least an order of magnitude more lenses than currently known will have to be discovered and analysed to accurately probe any quintessence component.

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arXiv2002

Spatially resolved STIS spectra of the gravitationally lensed BAL quasar APM08279+5255: the nature of component C and evidence for microlensing

While gravitationally lensed quasars are expected to display an odd number of images, invariably systems are observed with an even number of quasars. For this, lensing galaxies must have very small core radii; this provides strong demagnification of one of the images. High resolution imaging of the gravitationally lensed BAL quasar, APM08279+5255, reveals three point-like images. As these images possess similar colours, it has been suggested that each represents a lensed image. Here, spatially resolved spectra of the individual components, obtained with STIS on the HST, are presented, clearly revealing that each is an image of the quasar. This confirms that APM08279+5255 represents the first example of an odd-image gravitationally lensed system. The implications for the properties of the lensing galaxy are discussed. It is also found that the individual images possess spectral differences indicative of the influence of gravitational microlensing in this system.

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arXiv2002

AAT/WFI observations of the Extragalactic H I Cloud HIPASS J1712-64

AAT/WFI optical images of a candidate extragalactic HI cloud, HIPASS J1712-64, are presented. The g and r-band CCD mosaic camera frames were processed using a new data pipeline recently installed at the AAO. The resultant stacked images reach significantly deeper levels than those of previous published optical imaging of this candidate, providing a detection limit M_g -7 at a distance of 3Mpc, the inferred distance to HIPASS J1712-64. However, detailed analysis of the images fails to uncover any stellar population associated with the HI emission. If this system is a member of the Local Group then it is pathologically different to other members. Hence, our observations reinforce earlier suggestions that this HI cloud is most likely Galactic in origin and not a Local Volume dwarf galaxy.

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arXiv2001

Was SN1997ff at z~1.7 magnified by gravitational lensing?

The quest for the cosmological parameters has come to fruition with the identification of a number of supernovae at a redshift of $z\sim1$. Analyses of the brightness of these standard candles reveal that the Universe is dominated by a large cosmological constant. The recent identification of the $z\sim1.7$ SN1997ff in the northern Hubble Deep Field has provided further evidence for this cosmology. Here we examine the case for gravitational lensing of SN1997ff due to the presence of galaxies lying along our line of sight. We find that, while the alignment of SN1997ff with foreground masses was not favorable for it to be multiply imaged and strongly magnified, two galaxies did lie close enough to result in significant magnification: $μ\sim1.4$ for the case where these elliptical galaxies have velocity dispersion $200 {\rm km/s}$. Given the small difference between supernova brightnesses in different cosmologies, detailed modeling of the gravitational lensing properties of the intervening matter is therefore required before the true cosmological significance of SN1997ff can be deduced.

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arXiv2000

Searching for MACHOs in Galaxy Clusters

If cluster dark matter is in the form of compact objects it will introduce fluctuations into the light curves of distant sources. Current searches for MACHOs in clusters of galaxies focus on monitoring quasars behind nearby systems. This paper considers the effect of such a compact population on the surface brightness distribution of giant gravitationally lensed arcs. As the microlensing optical depth is significant in these clusters, the expected fluctuations are substantial and are observable. Focusing on the giant arc seen in Abell 370, we demonstrate that several `extreme' events would be visible in a comparison of HST observations at two epochs. Utilizing NGST, long term monitoring should reveal a ubiquitous twinkling of brightness over the surface of the arcs.

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arXiv2000

Probing the Atmospheres of Planets Orbiting Microlensed Stars via Polarization Variability

We present a new method to identify and probe planetary companions of stars in the Galactic Bulge and Magellanic Clouds using gravitational microlensing. While spectroscopic studies of these planets is well beyond current observational techniques, monitoring polarization fluctuations during high magnification events induced by binary microlensing events will probe the composition of the planetary atmospheres, an observation which otherwise is currently unattainable even for nearby planetary systems.

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arXiv2000

The Search for Cosmological Black Holes: A Surface Brightness Variability Test

Recently it has been suggested that the majority of dark matter in the universe resides in the form of Jupiter mass black holes distributed cosmologically. This population makes itself apparent by microlensing high redshift quasars and introducing pronounced variability into their observed light curves. While several arguments dismissing this hypothesis have been presented, a conclusive observational test is, alas, sadly lacking. In this paper we investigate the effect of a cosmologically distributed population of microlensing masses on galaxies at low to intermediate redshift. The magnification of bright stars in these galaxies leads to small, but observable, fluctuations in their surface brightness. The variability time scale for Jupiter-mass lensing objects is of the order of a few months and this population may be detected through a future space-based monitoring campaign of a field containing $z \sim 0.5$ galaxies. The monitoring of galactic surface brightness will provide an effective test of the nature of dark matter on cosmological scales.

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arXiv1999

Photometric Monitoring of the Gravitationally Lensed Ultraluminous BAL Quasar APM08279+5255

We report on one year of photometric monitoring of the ultraluminous BAL quasar APM 08279+5255. The temporal sampling reveals that this gravitationally lensed system has brightened by ~0.2 mag in 100 days. Two potential causes present themselves; either the variability is intrinsic to the quasar, or it is the result of microlensing by stars in a foreground system. The data is consistent with both hypotheses and further monitoring is required before either case can be conclusively confirmed. We demonstrate, however, that gravitational microlensing can not play a dominant role in explaining the phenomenal properties exhibited by APM 08279+5255. The identification of intrinsic variability, coupled with the simple gravitational lensing configuration, would suggest that APM 08279+5255 is a potential golden lens from which the cosmological parameters can be derived and is worthy of a monitoring program at high spatial resolution.

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arXiv1999

Faint, moving objects in the Hubble Deep Field: components of the dark halo?

The deepest optical image of the sky, the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in December 1995, has been compared to a similar image taken in December 1997. Two very faint, blue, isolated and unresolved objects are found to display a substantial apparent proper motion, 23+/-5 mas/yr and 26+/-5 mas/yr; a further three objects at the detection limit of the second epoch observations may also be moving. Galactic structure models predict a general absence of stars in the color-magnitude range in which these objects are found. However, these observations are consistent with recently-developed models of old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres, whose color, contrary to previous expectations, has been shown to be blue. If these apparently moving objects are indeed old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres and masses near 0.5 M_Sun, they have ages of approximately 12 Gyr, and a local mass density that is sufficient, within the large uncertainties arising from the small size of the sample, to account for the entire missing Galactic dynamical mass.

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arXiv1999

NICMOS and VLA Observations of the Gravitatonally Lensed Ultraluminous BAL Quasar APM~08279+5255: Detection of a Third Image

We present a suite of observations of the recently identified ultraluminous BAL quasar APM 08279+5255, taken both in the infra-red with the NICMOS high resolution camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope, and at 3.5cm with the Very Large Array. With an inferred luminosity of ~5x10^15 Solar luminosities, APM 08279+5255 is apparently the most luminous system known. Extant ground-based images show that APM 08279+5255 is not point-like, but is instead separated into two components, indicative of gravitational lensing. The much higher resolution images presented here also reveal two point sources, A and B, of almost equal brightness (f_B/f_A=0.782 +/- 0.010), separated by 0."378 +/- 0."001, as well as a third, previously unknown, fainter image, C, seen between the brighter images. While the nature of C is not fully determined, several lines of evidence point to it being a third gravitationally lensed image of the quasar, rather than being the lensing galaxy. Simple models which recover the relative image configuration and brightnesses are presented. While proving to be substantially amplified, APM 08279+5255 possesses an intrinsic bolometric luminosity of ~10^14 to 10^15 Solar luminosities and remains amongst the most luminous objects known.

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arXiv1998

Submillimeter Observations of the Ultraluminous BAL Quasar APM 08279+5255

With an inferred bolometric luminosity of $5\times10^{15}{\rm \lsun}$, the recently identified z=3.87, broad absorption line quasar APM 08279+5255 is apparently the most luminous object currently known. As half of its prodigious emission occurs in the infrared, APM 08279+5255 also represents the most extreme example of an Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy. Here, we present new submillimeter observations of this phenomenal object; while indicating that a vast quantity of dust is present, these data prove to be incompatible with current models of emission mechanisms and reprocessing in ultraluminous systems. The influence of gravitational lensing upon these models is considered and we find that while the emission from the central continuum emitting region may be significantly enhanced, lensing induced magnification cannot easily reconcile the models with observations. We conclude that further modeling, including the effects of any differential magnification is required to explain the observed emission from APM 08279+5255.

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arXiv1998

APM 08279+5255: an ultraluminous BAL quasar at a redshift z=3.87

We report on the discovery of a highly luminous, broad absorption line quasar at a redshift of $z=3.87$ which is positionally coincident, within one arcsecond, with the IRAS FSC source F08279+5255. A chance alignment of the quasar and the IRAS source is extremely unlikely and we argue that the optical and FIR flux are different manifestations of the same object. With an R-band magnitude of 15.2, and an IRAS 60$\mum$ flux of $0.51\jy$, APM 08279+5255 is (apparently) easily the most intrinsically luminous object known, with $ L_{Bol}\sim5\times10^{15}L_{\odot}}$. Imaging suggests that gravitational lensing may play a role in amplifying the intrinsic properties of the system. The optical spectrum of the quasar clearly reveals the presence of three potential lensing galaxies, \mg absorption systems at $z=1.18$ and $z=1.81$, and a \ly absorption system at $z=3.07$. We estimate the total amplification of the optical component to be $\approx40$, but, due to the larger scale of the emitting region, would expect the infrared amplification to be significantly less. Even making the conservative assumption that all wavelengths are amplified by a factor 40, APM 08279+5255 still possesses a phenomenal luminosity of $\simgt 10^{14L_{\odot}}$, indicating that it belongs to a small, but significant population of high--redshift, hyperluminous objects with copious infrared emission.

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arXiv1998

Archer of the Galactic disk? The effect on the outer HI disk of the Milky Way of collisional encounters with the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

Hydrodynamical calculations undertaken to simulate the collisional interaction between the Sgr dwarf galaxy and the Galactic outer HI disk are presented, constrained by recently derived orbital and mass parameters for this dwarf galaxy. It is found that a significant distortion to the structure of the Galactic HI disk will be induced by the collision if the mass of the dwarf exceeds ~10^9 M_Sun; this value is consistent with an estimate derived by requiring that the dwarf galaxy is sufficiently robust to survive tidal disruption until the present time. Though the precise details of the interaction are compromised in our simulations by the lack of a live Galactic halo, we find that for model masses > 5x10^9 M_Sun, prominent spiral arms and a substantial lopsidedness in the outer disk are produced. Furthermore, a noticeable warp-like structure is induced in the disk. Thus the Sgr dwarf may have significantly affected the star formation history and structure of the outer Galaxy. These simulations confirm the possibility of determining the current merging rate of low surface brightness, gas-poor dwarf galaxies of mass > 10^9 M_Sun onto giant spiral galaxies from careful analysis of observations of the structure of HI disks.

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arXiv1998

HST Photometry of the Globular Cluster M4

This paper presents a detailed description of the acquisition and processing of a large body of imaging data for three fields in the globular cluster M4 taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Analysis with the ALLFRAME package yielded the deepest photometry yet obtained for this cluster. The resulting data-set for 4708 stars (positions and calibrated photometry in V, I, and, in two fields, U) spanning approximately six cluster core radii is available on the AAS CD-ROM (or email a request to RAI). The scientific analysis is deferred to three companion papers, which investigate the significant white dwarf population discovered and the main sequence population.

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arXiv1998

Quasar Image Shifts due to Gravitational Microlensing

Gravitational microlensing of quasars by stars in external galaxies can introduce fluctuations in the centroid of the ``point-like'' macro--images. The induced shifts are extremely small, on micro--arcsecond scales, below the limits of current optical observations. However, such shifts will become measurable with the proposed ``Space Interferometry'' mission, due to fly in 2005. The degree of the centroid shifts and their application as probes of both quasar structure and the stellar mass function in the lensing galaxy are discussed.

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arXiv1997

White Dwarfs in Globular Clusters: HST Observations of M4

Using WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have isolated a sample of 258 white dwarfs (WDs) in the Galactic globular cluster M4. Fields at three radial distances from the cluster center were observed and sizeable WD populations were found in all three. The location of these WDs in the color-magnitude diagram, their mean mass of 0.51($ \pm 0.03$)M$_{\odot}$, and their luminosity function confirm basic tenets of stellar evolution theory and support the results from current WD cooling theory. The WDs are used to extend the cluster main-sequence mass function upward to stars that have already completed their nuclear evolution. The WD/red dwarf binary frequency in M4 is investigated and found to be at most a few percent of all the main-sequence stars. The most ancient WDs found are about 9 Gyr old, a level which is set solely by the photometric limits of our data. Even though this is less than the age of M4, we discuss how these cooling WDs can eventually be used to check the turnoff ages of globular clusters and hence constrain the age of the Universe.

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arXiv1995

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of White Dwarfs in the Globular Cluster M4

With the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered in M4 (NGC 6121, C 1620-264) the first extensive sequence of cooling white dwarfs seen in a globular cluster. Adopting a distance modulus of (m-M)_V = 12.65 and a reddening of E(B-V) = 0.37, we show that the sequence, which extends over 9 < M_U < 13, is comprised of white dwarfs of mass \sim 0.5 M_{\odot}. The total mass loss from the present turnoff to the white dwarf sequence is 0.31 M_{\odot} and the intrinsic dispersion in the mean mass appears to be < 0.05 M_{\odot}. Both the location of the white dwarf cooling sequence in the cluster color-magnitude diagram and the cumulative luminosity function attest to the basic correctness and completeness of the physics in theoretical models for the upper three magnitudes of the observed white dwarf cooling sequence. To test the theory in globular clusters at cooling ages beyond \sim 3 \times 10^8 years will require deeper and more complete data.

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