Spectroscopic Confirmation of the Quadruply Lensed Quasar WG0214-2105

Abstract

Abstract We present timely spectroscopic follow-ups of WG0214-2105, a background quasar strongly lensed by a foreground galaxy into four images. WG0204-2105 was recently identified by Agnello from a combination of the mid-infrared quasar color selection using WISE photometry and the exquisite astrometric resolution of Gaia, and can be clearly seen in the Dark Energy Survey, VST-ALTAS, and Pan-STARRS optical imaging. The quasar images are relatively faint, thus prompting us to conduct spectroscopic observations using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs (GMOS) spectrograph on board the 8 m Gemini telescope. The GMOS spectra firmly detected the emission lines, e.g., Lyα, C iv, and C iii], from the background quasar, allowing us to confirm the lensing nature and pin down the quasar redshifts to be z = 3.24. There are also absorption lines, putatively associated with a foreground absorber at z = 0.45. We also derive the broadband photometry of the quasar images using the Pan-STARRS grizy images, as well as the time-delay using the aforementioned redshifts. Future long-term photometric follow-up will help narrow down the time-delays, providing a firm basis to determine Hubble constant.