Abstract
Cluster strong lensing cosmography is a promising probe of the background geometry of the Universe and several studies have emerged thanks to the increased quality of observations using space- and ground-based telescopes. For the first time, we used a sample of five cluster strong lenses to measure the values of cosmological parameters and combine them with those from classical probes. In order to assess the degeneracies and the effectiveness of strong-lensing cosmography in constraining the background geometry of the Universe, we adopted four cosmological scenarios. We found good constraining power on the total matter density of the Universe (Ωm) and the equation of state of the dark energy parameter w. For a flat wCDM cosmology, we found Ωm = 0.30−0.11+0.09 and w = −1.12−0.32+0.17 from strong lensing only. Interestingly, we show that the constraints from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are improved by factors of 2.5 and 4.0 on Ωm and w, respectively, when combined with our posterior distributions in this cosmological model. In a scenario where the equation of state of dark energy evolves with redshift, the strong lensing constraints are compatible with a cosmological constant (i.e. w = −1). In a curved cosmology, our strong lensing analyses can accommodate a large range of values for the curvature of the Universe of Ωk = 0.28−0.21+0.16. In all cosmological scenarios, we show that our strong lensing constraints are complementary and in good agreement with measurements from the CMB, baryon acoustic oscillations, and Type Ia supernovae. Our results show that cluster strong lensing cosmography is a potentially powerful probe to be included in the cosmological analyses of future surveys.
Highlights
Cosmological observations suggest that the Universe is mostly composed of somewhat unconventional components whose nature is still not fully understood
Our results show that cluster strong lensing cosmography is a potentially powerful probe to be included in the cosmological analyses of future surveys
Based on Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data, in Caminha et al (2016a) we have shown that the combination of a regular total mass distribution and a large number of multiple images with redshifts in the range of zsrc = [0.7−6.1] makes the cluster Abell S1063 an excellent system for cluster strong lensing cosmography
Summary
Cosmological observations suggest that the Universe is mostly composed of somewhat unconventional components whose nature is still not fully understood. The possibility of constraining cosmological parameters with this methodology was explored in more detail in subsequent works using simulated data (Link & Pierce 1998; Golse et al 2002; Gilmore & Natarajan 2009; D’Aloisio & Natarajan 2011) It was only with the combination of imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and extensive spectroscopy from different instruments in the field of the galaxy cluster Abell 1689 that the first competitive cosmological constraints were obtained in Jullo et al (2010). Based on MUSE spectroscopy and HST data, in Caminha et al (2016a) we have shown that the combination of a regular total mass distribution and a large number of multiple images with redshifts in the range of zsrc = [0.7−6.1] makes the cluster Abell S1063 an excellent system for cluster strong lensing cosmography.
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