The cosmic horseshoe: discovery of an einstein ring around a giant luminous red galaxy

V. Belokurov*, N. W. Evans, A. Moiseev, L. J. King, P. C. Hewett, M. Pettini, L. Wyrzykowski, R. G. Mcmahon, M. C. Smith, G. Gilmore, S. F. Sanchez, A. Udalski, S. Koposov, D. B. Zucker, C. J. Walcher

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

90 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report the discovery of an almost complete (̃300°) Einstein ring of diameter 10" in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5 (DR5). Spectroscopic data from the 6 m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory reveal that the deflecting galaxy has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion in excess of 400 km s-1 and a redshift of 0.444, while the source is a star-forming galaxy with a redshift of 2.379. From its color, luminosity, and velocity dispersion, we argue that this is the most massive galaxy lens hitherto discovered.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L9-L12
Number of pages4
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume671
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

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