Multi-wavelength study of the gravitational lens system RXS J113155.4-123155
Publication date: 13 April 2006
Authors: Sluse, D., et al.
Journal: Astronomy & Astrophysics
Volume: 449
Issue: II
Page: 539
Year: 2006
Copyright: Blackwell
We present a follow-up imaging study (HST + ground based observations) of the complex gravitational lens system RXS J113155.4-123155. The latter consists of a quadruply imaged QSO and of an Einstein ring. Thanks to the MCS deconvolution technique (Magain, Courbin, Sohy 1998), we retrieve accurate relative positions for the lensed QSO images and photometry in the Bessel B, V, R, I filters and in the J-SOFI, F160W and Ks filters. The HST frames unveil structures in the Einstein ring as well as an unidentified object X in the vicinity of the lensing galaxy. We discuss the lightcurves and the chromatic flux ratio variations observed in this system and deduce that both intrinsic variability and microlensing took place during a span longer than one year. We also demonstrate that microlensing may easily account for the so called anomalous flux ratios presented in the discovery paper. However, the actual flux ratios are still poorly reproduced when modelling the lens potential with a Singular Isothermal Ellipsoid+shear. We argue that this disagreement can hardly be explained by milli-lensing due to substructures in the lensing galaxy. A solution proposed elsewhere (Claeskens et al. 2005) consists in a more complex lens model including an octupole term to the lens gravitational potential.
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