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We present a tomographic analysis of metal absorption lines arising from the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies at z ≈ 0.5–2, using Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations of two background quasars at z ≈ 2.2 and 2.8, which are two of the few currently known quasars with multiple images due to strong gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters at z ≈ 0.6 and 0.5, respectively. The angular separations between different pairs of quasar multiple images enable us to probe the absorption over transverse physical separations of ≈0.4–150 kpc, which are based on strong lensing models exploiting MUSE observations. The fractional difference in rest-frame equivalent width (Δ W r) of Mg  ii , Fe  ii , and C  iv absorption increases on average with physical separation, indicating that the metal-enriched gaseous structures become less coherent with distance, with a likely coherence length-scale of ≈10 kpc. However, Δ W r for all the ions vary considerably over ≈0.08–0.9, indicating a clumpy CGM over the full range of length-scales probed. At the same time, paired Mg  ii absorption is detected across ≈100–150 kpc at similar line-of-sight velocities, which could be probing cool gas clouds within the same halo. No significant dependence of Δ W r is found on the equivalent width and redshift of the absorbing gas and on the galaxy environment associated with the absorption. The high-ionization gas phase traced by C  iv shows a higher degree of coherence than the low-ionization gas phase traced by Mg  ii , with ≈90 per cent of C  iv systems exhibiting Δ W r ≤ 0.5 at separations ≤10 kpc compared to ≈50 per cent of Mg  ii systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of the quadruply lensed quasar SDSS J1433+6007 (RA =14:33:22.8, Dec.=+60:07:13.44), mined in the SDSS DR12 photometric catalogues using a novel outlierselection technique, without prior spectroscopic or ultraviolet excess information. Discovery data obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope (La Palma) show nearly identical quasar spectra at zs = 2.737 ± 0.003 and four quasar images in a fold configuration, one of which sits on a blue arc, with maximum separation 3.6 arcsec. The deflector redshift is zl = 0.407 ± 0.002, from Keck-ESI spectra. We describe the selection procedure, discovery and follow-up, image positions and BVRi magnitudes, and first results and forecasts from lens model fit to the relative image positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from a comprehensive lensing analysis in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data of the complete Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble cluster sample. We identify previously undiscovered multiple images, allowing improved or first constraints on the cluster inner mass distributions and profiles. We combine these strong lensing constraints with weak lensing shape measurements within the HST field of view (FOV) to jointly constrain the mass distributions. The analysis is performed in two different common parameterizations (one adopts light-traces-mass for both galaxies and dark matter while the other adopts an analytical, elliptical Navarro-Frenk-White form for the dark matter) to provide a better assessment of the underlying systematics—which is most important for deep, cluster-lensing surveys, especially when studying magnified high-redshift objects. We find that the typical (median), relative systematic differences throughout the central FOV are ∼40% in the (dimensionless) mass density, κ, and ∼20% in the magnification, μ. We show maps of these differences for each cluster, as well as the mass distributions, critical curves, and two-dimensional (2D)-integrated mass profiles. For the Einstein radii (zs = 2) we find that all typically agree within 10% between the two models, and Einstein masses agree, typically, within ∼15%. At larger radii, the total projected, 2D-integrated mass profiles of the two models, within r ∼ 2′, differ by ∼30%. Stacking the surface-density profiles of the sample from the two methods together, we obtain an average slope of dlog (Σ)/dlog (r) ∼ –0.64 ± 0.1, in the radial range [5350] kpc. Last, we also characterize the behavior of the average magnification, surface density, and shear differences between the two models as a function of both the radius from the center and the best-fit values of these quantities. All mass models and magnification maps are made publicly available for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a joint shear-and-magnification weak-lensing analysis of a sample of 16 X-ray-regular and 4 high-magnification galaxy clusters at 0.19 ≲ z ≲ 0.69 selected from the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). Our analysis uses wide-field multi-color imaging, taken primarily with Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. From a stacked-shear-only analysis of the X-ray-selected subsample, we detect the ensemble-averaged lensing signal with a total signal-to-noise ratio of ≃ 25 in the radial range of 200-3500 kpc h–1, providing integrated constraints on the halo profile shape and concentration-mass relation. The stacked tangential-shear signal is well described by a family of standard density profiles predicted for dark-matter-dominated halos in gravitational equilibrium, namely, the Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW), truncated variants of NFW, and Einasto models. For the NFW model, we measure a mean concentration of at an effective halo mass of . We show that this is in excellent agreement with Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) predictions when the CLASH X-ray selection function and projection effects are taken into account. The best-fit Einasto shape parameter is , which is consistent with the NFW-equivalent Einasto parameter of ∼0.18. We reconstruct projected mass density profiles of all CLASH clusters from a joint likelihood analysis of shear-and-magnification data and measure cluster masses at several characteristic radii assuming an NFW density profile. We also derive an ensemble-averaged total projected mass profile of the X-ray-selected subsample by stacking their individual mass profiles. The stacked total mass profile, constrained by the shear+magnification data, is shown to be consistent with our shear-based halo-model predictions, including the effects of surrounding large-scale structure as a two-halo term, establishing further consistency in the context of the ΛCDM model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present profiles of temperature, gas mass, and hydrostatic mass estimated from new and archival X-ray observations of CLASH clusters. We compare measurements derived from XMM and Chandra observations with one another and compare both to gravitational lensing mass profiles derived with CLASH Hubble Space Telescope and Subaru Telescope lensing data. Radial profiles of Chandra and XMM measurements of electron density and enclosed gas mass are nearly identical, indicating that differences in hydrostatic masses inferred from X-ray observations arise from differences in gas-temperature measurements. Encouragingly, gas temperatures measured in clusters by XMM and Chandra are consistent with one another at ∼100-200 kpc radii, but XMM temperatures systematically decline relative to Chandra temperatures at larger radii. The angular dependence of the discrepancy suggests that additional investigation on systematics such as the XMM point-spread function correction, vignetting, and off-axis responses is yet required. We present the CLASH-X mass-profile comparisons in the form of cosmology-independent and redshift-independent circular-velocity profiles. We argue that comparisons of circular-velocity profiles are the most robust way to assess mass bias. Ratios of Chandra hydrostatic equilibrium (HSE) mass profiles to CLASH lensing profiles show no obvious radial dependence in the 0.3-0.8 Mpc range. However, the mean mass biases inferred from the weak-lensing (WL) and SaWLens data are different. As an example, the weighted-mean value at 0.5 Mpc is 〈 b〉 = 0.12 for the WL comparison and 〈 b〉 = –0.11 for the SaWLens comparison. The ratios of XMM HSE mass profiles to CLASH lensing profiles show a pronounced radial dependence in the 0.3-1.0 Mpc range, with a weighted mean mass bias value rising to 〈 b〉 ≳ 0.3 at ∼1 Mpc for the WL comparison and 〈 b〉 ≈ 0.25 for the SaWLens comparison. The enclosed gas mass profiles from both Chandra and XMM rise to a value ≈1/8 times the total-mass profiles inferred from lensing at ≈0.5 Mpc and remain constant outside of that radius, suggesting that Mgas × 8 profiles may be an excellent proxy for total-mass profiles at ≳ 0.5 Mpc in massive galaxy clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]