A highly magnified star at redshift 6.2
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A highly magnified star at redshift 6.2. / Welch, Brian; Coe, Dan; Diego, Jose M.; Zitrin, Adi; Zackrisson, Erik; Dimauro, Paola; Jimenez-Teja, Yolanda; Kelly, Patrick; Mahler, Guillaume; Oguri, Masamune; Timmes, F. X.; Windhorst, Rogier; Florian, Michael; de Mink, S. E.; Avila, Roberto J.; Anderson, Jay; Bradley, Larry; Sharon, Keren; Vikaeus, Anton; McCandliss, Stephan; Bradac, Marusa; Rigby, Jane; Frye, Brenda; Toft, Sune; Strait, Victoria; Trenti, Michele; Sharma, Soniya; Andrade-Santos, Felipe; Broadhurst, Tom.
In: Nature, Vol. 603, No. 7903, 2022, p. 815-818.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A highly magnified star at redshift 6.2
AU - Welch, Brian
AU - Coe, Dan
AU - Diego, Jose M.
AU - Zitrin, Adi
AU - Zackrisson, Erik
AU - Dimauro, Paola
AU - Jimenez-Teja, Yolanda
AU - Kelly, Patrick
AU - Mahler, Guillaume
AU - Oguri, Masamune
AU - Timmes, F. X.
AU - Windhorst, Rogier
AU - Florian, Michael
AU - de Mink, S. E.
AU - Avila, Roberto J.
AU - Anderson, Jay
AU - Bradley, Larry
AU - Sharon, Keren
AU - Vikaeus, Anton
AU - McCandliss, Stephan
AU - Bradac, Marusa
AU - Rigby, Jane
AU - Frye, Brenda
AU - Toft, Sune
AU - Strait, Victoria
AU - Trenti, Michele
AU - Sharma, Soniya
AU - Andrade-Santos, Felipe
AU - Broadhurst, Tom
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Galaxy clusters magnify background objects through strong gravitational lensing. Typical magnifications for lensed galaxies are factors of a few but can also be as high as tens or hundreds, stretching galaxies into giant arcs(1,2). Individual stars can attain even higher magnifications given fortuitous alignment with the lensing cluster. Recently, several individual stars at redshifts between approximately 1 and 1.5 have been discovered, magnified by factors of thousands, temporarily boosted by microlensing(3-6). Here we report observations of a more distant and persistent magnified star at a redshift of 6.2 +/- 0.1, 900 million years after the Big Bang. This star is magnified by a factor of thousands by the foreground galaxy cluster lens WHL0137-08 (redshift 0.566), as estimated by four independent lens models. Unlike previous lensed stars, the magnification and observed brightness (AB magnitude, 27.2) have remained roughly constant over 3.5 years of imaging and follow-up. The delensed absolute UV magnitude, -10 +/- 2, is consistent with a star of mass greater than 50 times the mass of the Sun. Confirmation and spectral classification are forthcoming from approved observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
AB - Galaxy clusters magnify background objects through strong gravitational lensing. Typical magnifications for lensed galaxies are factors of a few but can also be as high as tens or hundreds, stretching galaxies into giant arcs(1,2). Individual stars can attain even higher magnifications given fortuitous alignment with the lensing cluster. Recently, several individual stars at redshifts between approximately 1 and 1.5 have been discovered, magnified by factors of thousands, temporarily boosted by microlensing(3-6). Here we report observations of a more distant and persistent magnified star at a redshift of 6.2 +/- 0.1, 900 million years after the Big Bang. This star is magnified by a factor of thousands by the foreground galaxy cluster lens WHL0137-08 (redshift 0.566), as estimated by four independent lens models. Unlike previous lensed stars, the magnification and observed brightness (AB magnitude, 27.2) have remained roughly constant over 3.5 years of imaging and follow-up. The delensed absolute UV magnitude, -10 +/- 2, is consistent with a star of mass greater than 50 times the mass of the Sun. Confirmation and spectral classification are forthcoming from approved observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
KW - MASS-DISTRIBUTION
KW - GALAXIES
KW - STELLAR
KW - RELICS
KW - EVOLUTION
KW - PHOTOMETRY
KW - SPECTRUM
U2 - 10.1038/s41586-022-04449-y
DO - 10.1038/s41586-022-04449-y
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 35354998
VL - 603
SP - 815
EP - 818
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7903
ER -
ID: 303675625