A variable active galactic nucleus at z = 2.06 triply-imaged by the galaxy cluster MACS J0035.4−2015
Journal article, 2023

We report the discovery of a triply imaged active galactic nucleus (AGN), lensed by the galaxy cluster MACS J0035.4−2015 (z d = 0.352). The object is detected in Hubble Space Telescope imaging taken for the RELICS program. It appears to have a quasi-stellar nucleus consistent with a point-source, with a de-magnified radius of re ≲ 100 pc. The object is spectroscopically confirmed to be an AGN at z spec = 2.063 ± 0.005 showing broad rest-frame UV emission lines, and detected in both X-ray observations with Chandra and in ALCS ALMA band 6 (1.2 mm) imaging. It has a relatively faint rest-frame UV luminosity for a quasar-like object, MUV, 1450 = −19.7 ± 0.2. The object adds to just a few quasars or other X-ray sources known to be multiply lensed by a galaxy cluster. Some diffuse emission from the host galaxy is faintly seen around the nucleus, and there is a faint object nearby sharing the same multiple-imaging symmetry and geometric redshift, possibly an interacting galaxy or a star-forming knot in the host. We present an accompanying lens model, calculate the magnifications and time delays, and infer the physical properties of the source. We find the rest-frame UV continuum and emission lines to be dominated by the AGN, and the optical emission to be dominated by the host galaxy of modest stellar mass M✶ ≃ 109.2 M⊙. We also observe some variation in the AGN emission with time, which may suggest that the AGN used to be more active. This object adds a low-redshift counterpart to several relatively faint AGN recently uncovered at high redshifts with HST and JWST.

galaxies: nuclei

gravitational lensing: strong

galaxies: Seyfert

cosmology: observations

galaxies: clusters: individual: MACS J0035.4-2015

quasars

Author

Lukas J. Furtak

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ramesh Mainali

University of Arizona

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Catholic University of America

A. Zitrin

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Adèle Plat

University of Arizona

S. Fujimoto

The University of Texas at Austin

Megan Donahue

Michigan State University

Erica J. Nelson

University of Colorado at Boulder

F. E. Bauer

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Millennium Institute of Astrophysics

Ryosuke Uematsu

Kyoto University

G. B. Caminha

Max Planck Society

F. Andrade-Santos

Berklee College of Music

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

L. Bradley

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Karina I. Caputi

Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)

University of Groningen

Stephane Charlot

Institut d 'Astrophysique de Paris

Jacopo Chevallard

University of Oxford

Dan Coe

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Johns Hopkins University

Emma Curtis-Lake

University of Hertfordshire

D. Espada

Universidad de Granada

B. Frye

University of Arizona

Kirsten Knudsen

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics

Anton M. Koekemoer

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

K. Kohno

Research Center for the Early Universe

University of Tokyo

V. Kokorev

University of Groningen

N. Laporte

University of Cambridge

M. M. Lee

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)

Brian C. Lemaux

Gemini Observatory North

University of California

Georgios E. Magdis

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)

Niels Bohr Institute

Keren Sharon

University of Michigan

Daniel P. Stark

University of Arizona

Yuanyuan Su

University of Kentucky

Katherine A. Suess

University of California

Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Yoshihiro Ueda

Kyoto University

H. Umehata

Nagoya University

Alba Vidal-García

Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure

Spanish National Observatory (OAN)

John F. Wu

Johns Hopkins University

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

0035-8711 (ISSN) 1365-2966 (eISSN)

Vol. 522 4 5142-5151

Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)

Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics

DOI

10.1093/mnras/stad1321

More information

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3/9/2025 1