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The inner mass profile of the relaxed cluster Abell 1703 is analysed by two very different strong-lensing techniques applied to the deep Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Channel 3 imaging. Our parametric method has the accuracy required to reproduce many sets of multiple images, based on the assumption that mass approximately traces light. We test this assumption with a fully non-parametric, adaptive grid method, with no knowledge of the galaxy distribution. Differences between the methods are seen on fine scales due to member galaxies which must be included in models designed to search for lensed images, but on the larger scale the general distribution of dark matter is in good agreement, with very similar radial mass profiles. We add undiluted weak-lensing measurements from deep multicolour Subaru imaging to obtain a fully model-independent mass profile out to the virial radius and beyond. Consistency is found in the region of overlap between the weak and strong lensing, and the full mass profile is well described by a Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) model of a concentration parameter, (and ). Abell 1703 lies above the standard c- M relation predicted for the standard Λ cold dark matter model, similar to other massive relaxed clusters with accurately determined lensing-based profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weak lensing work can be badly compromised by unlensed foreground and cluster members which dilute the true lensing signal. We show how the lensing amplitude in multicolour space can be harnessed to securely separate cluster members from the foreground and background populations for three massive clusters, A1703 ( z= 0.258), A370 ( z= 0.375) and RXJ1347−11 ( z= 0.451) imaged with Subaru. The luminosity functions of these clusters when corrected for dilution show similar faint-end slopes, α≃− 1.0, with no marked faint-end upturn to our limit of MR≃− 15.0, and only a mild radial gradient. In each case, the radial profile of the mass-to-light ratio ( M/ L) peaks at intermediate radius, ≃ 0.2 rvir, at a level of 300–500( M/ LR)⊙, and then falls steadily towards ∼ 100( M/ LR)⊙ at the virial radius, similar to the mean field level. This behaviour is likely due to the relative paucity of central late-type galaxies, whereas for the E/S0 sequence only a mild radial decline in M/ L is found for each cluster. We discuss this behaviour in the context of detailed simulations where predictions for tidal stripping may now be tested accurately with observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an improved strong-lensing analysis of Cl0024+1654 using deep Hubble Space Telescope ( HST)/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)/NIC3 images, based on 33 multiply-lensed images of 11 background galaxies. These are found with a model that assumes mass approximately traces light, with a low-order expansion to allow for flexibility on large scales. The model is constrained initially by the well-known five-image system and refined as new multiply-lensed systems are identified using the model. Photometric redshifts of these new systems are then used to constrain better the mass profile by adopting the standard cosmological relation between redshift and lensing distance. Our model requires only six free parameters to describe well all positional and redshift data. The resulting inner mass profile has a slope of , consistent with new weak-lensing measurements where the data overlap, at . The combined profile is well fitted by a high-concentration Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) mass profile, , similar to other well-studied clusters, but larger than predicted with standard Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM). A well-defined radial critical curve is generated by the model and is clearly observed at arcsec, outlined by elongated images pointing towards the centre of mass. The relative fluxes of the multiply-lensed images are found to agree well with the modelled magnifications, providing an independent consistency check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]