A variable active galactic nucleus at z = 2.06 triply-imaged by the galaxy cluster MACS J0035.4−2015
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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.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 522 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 5142-5151 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0035-8711 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
- cosmology: observations, galaxies: clusters: individual: MACS J0035.4-2015, galaxies: nuclei, galaxies: Seyfert, gravitational lensing: strong, quasars
Research areas
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