Astrophysics. Multiple images of a highly magnified supernova formed by an early-type cluster galaxy lens.
In 1964, Refsdal hypothesized that a supernova whose light traversed multiple paths around a strong gravitational lens could be used to measure the rate of cosmic expansion. We report the discovery of such a system. In Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we have found four images of a single supernova forming an Einstein cross configuration around a redshift z = 0.54 elliptical galaxy in the MACS J1149.6+2223 cluster. The cluster's gravitational potential also creates multiple images of the z = 1.49 spiral supernova host galaxy, and a future appearance of the supernova elsewhere in the cluster field is expected. The magnifications and staggered arrivals of the supernova images probe the cosmic expansion rate, as well as the distribution of matter in the galaxy and cluster lenses.
Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA. pkelly@astro.berkeley.edu.
Patrick L
PL
Kelly
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Steven A
SA
Rodney
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Tommaso
T
Treu
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1002 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Ryan J
RJ
Foley
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Gabriel
G
Brammer
Kasper B
KB
Schmidt
Adi
A
Zitrin
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Alessandro
A
Sonnenfeld
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Boulevard, Bowling Green, KY 42101, USA.
Louis-Gregory
LG
Strolger
Center for Cosmological and Particle Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USA. Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA.
Or
O
Graur
Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA.
Alexei V
AV
Filippenko
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Saurabh W
SW
Jha
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Adam G
AG
Riess
Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Marusa
M
Bradac
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Benjamin J
BJ
Weiner
Department of Physics, University of Chicago, 5720 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5720 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Daniel
D
Scolnic
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Matthew A
MA
Malkan
Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen, Demark. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, 452 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Anja
A
von der Linden
School of Physics, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
Michele
M
Trenti
Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen, Demark.
Jens
J
Hjorth
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris, France.
Raphael
R
Gavazzi
INAF-OAR, Via Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio, Rome, Italy.
Adriano
A
Fontana
Julian C
JC
Merten
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, 6740 Cortona Drive Suite 102, Goleta, CA 93117, USA.
Curtis
C
McCully
Tucker
T
Jones
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Marc
M
Postman
Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA.
Alan
A
Dressler
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Brandon
B
Patel
Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MC 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
S Bradley
SB
Cenko
Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA.
Melissa L
ML
Graham
Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA. The Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Mount Stromlo Observatory, via Cotter Road, Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory 2611, Australia.
Bradley E
BE
Tucker