QSO J1721+8842 spectra

DOI

High-redshift binary quasars provide key insights into mergers and quasar activity, and are useful tools for probing the spatial kinematics and chemistry of galaxies along the line-of-sight. However, only three sub-10-kpc binaries have been confirmed above z=1. Gravitational lensing would provide a way to easily resolve such binaries, study them in higher resolution, and provide more sightlines, though the required alignment with a massive foreground galaxy is rare. Through image deconvolution of StanCam Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) monitoring data, we reveal two further point sources in the known, z~2.38, quadruply lensed quasar (quad), J1721+8842. An ALFOSC/NOT long-slit spectrum shows that the brighter of these two sources is a quasar with z=2.369+/-0.007 based on the CIII] line, while the CIII] redshift of the quad is z=2.364+/-0.003. Lens modelling using point source positions rules out a single source model, favouring an isothermal lens mass profile with two quasar sources separated by ~6.0kpc (0.73") in projection. Given the resolving ability from lensing and current lensed quasar statistics, this discovery suggests a large population of undiscovered, unlensed sub-10-kpc binaries. We also analyse spectra of two images of the quad, showing narrow Ly{alpha} emission within the trough of a proximate damped Lyman-{alpha} absorber (PDLA). An apparent mismatch between the continuum and narrow line flux ratios provides a new potential tool for simultaneously studying microlensing and the quasar host galaxy. Signs of the PDLA are also seen in the second source, however a deeper spectrum is still required to confirm this. Thanks to the multiple lines-of-sight from lensing and two quasar sources, this system offers simultaneous sub-parsec and kpc-scale probes of a PDLA.

Identifier
DOI http://doi.org/10.26093/cds/vizier.36570113
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/657/A113
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/657/A113
Related Identifier https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/A+A/657/A113
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/657/A113
Provenance
Creator Lemon C.; Millon M.; Sluse D.; Courbin F.; Auger M.; Chan J.; Paic E.,Agnello A.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2022
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysical Processes; Astrophysics and Astronomy; Galactic and extragalactic Astronomy; High Energy Astrophysics; Interdisciplinary Astronomy; Natural Sciences; Observational Astronomy; Physics; Stellar Astronomy