The lens and source of the optical Einstein ring gravitational lens ER 0047-2808

Abstract

We perform a detailed analysis of the optical gravitational lens ER 0047-2808 imaged with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on the Hubble Space Telescope. Using software specifically designed for the analysis of resolved gravitational lens systems, we focus on how the image alone can constrain the mass distribution in the lens galaxy. We find that the data are of sufficient quality to strongly constrain the lens model with no a priori assumptions about the source. Using a variety of mass models, we find statistically acceptable results for elliptical isothermal-like models with an Einstein radius of 1.17 arcsec. An elliptical power-law model (Σ∝R−β) for the surface mass density favours a slope slightly steeper than isothermal with β= 1.08 ± 0.03. Other models including a constant mass-to-light ratio (M/L), pure Navarro, Frenk & White halo and (surprisingly) an isothermal sphere with external shear are ruled out by the data. We find the galaxy light profile can only be fit with a Sérsic plus point-source model. The resulting total M/LB contained within the images is 4.7 h65± 0.3. In addition, we find the luminous matter is aligned with the total mass distribution within a few degrees. This is the first time a resolved optical gravitational lens image has been quantitatively reproduced using a non-parametric source. The source, reconstructed by the software, is revealed to have two bright regions, with an unresolved component inside the caustic and a resolved component straddling a fold caustic. The angular size of the entire source is ~0.1 arcsec and its (unlensed) Lyα flux is 3 × 10−17 erg s−1 cm−2.