Detecting Dark Matter with Hubble Anna Nierenberg
Description: Detecting Dark Matter with Hubble Anna Nierenberg et al. Science Question: What is the nature of dark matter? How massive are the smallest clumps of dark matter? How can we detect them? Data Results: Hubble Space Telescope spectra are
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slide1. Detecting Dark Matter with Hubble Anna Nierenberg et al. Science Question: What is the nature of dark matter? How massive are the smallest clumps of dark matter? How can we detect them?
Data & Results: Hubble Space Telescope spectra are analyzed for 8 strongly lensed systems. The flux from the narrow-line emission region is measured. Focusing on this more physically extended emission mitigates the effects of stellar lensing (so-called microlensing) enabling an accurate measurement of the dark matter halos.
Significance: This effort doubles the number of lensed systems that can be used to measure low-mass dark matter haloes. Measurements of the frequency of such low-mass haloes provide an important constrain on the type of dark matter pervading the universe. Nierenberg, A.M., et al. (2020), MNRAS 492, 5314
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3588
This work was supported by a Hubble Space Telescope award. Light from a background quasar is split into four sources (A,B,C,D) by a foreground lens. Spectroscopy of the four sources disentangles the emission from the source quasar and its parent galaxy, enabling accurate measurement of perturbations caused by the small dark matter haloes within the lens structure. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology Reproduced with permission from MNRAS, © OUP<br>
slide2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology Contact: Secondary Contact:
Anna Nierenberg Leonidas Moustakas
Assistant Professor Astrophysics Section Manager
Department of Physics, University of California 169-506, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Merced, CA 95343 Pasadena, CA 91109
anierenberg@ucmerced.edu leonidas@jpl.nasa.gov
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6809-2536 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3030-2360
Citation:
“Double dark matter vision: twice the number of compact-source lenses with narrow-line lensing and the WFC3 grism”
Nierenberg, A.M., et al. (2020), MNRAS 492, 5314
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3588
Data Sources:
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Technical Description of Figure:
Optical image of one of the 8 observed systems (WGD J2038-4008), showing how light from a background quasar is split into four sources (A,B,C,D) by a foreground lens. The flux from each source quasar host galaxy has a narrower line width than emission from the central active galactic nucleus, such that Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy of the four sources can disentangle the emission from the source quasar and its parent galaxy. Focusing on the more extended narrow-line emission from the host galaxy mitigates the effects of stellar lensing (so-called microlensing) enabling an accurate measurement of the dark matter halos.
Scientific significance, societal relevance, and relationships to future missions:
The compact-source lenses observed here can be used to measure low-mass dark matter haloes within each lens.
This effort doubles the number of lensed systems with detectable low-mass dark matter haloes. Measurements of the frequency of such low-mass haloes provide an important constrain on the type of dark matter pervading the universe. The methods used in this paper will be applied to observations of lenses with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
and the Roman Space Telescope (RST, formerly WFIRST).<br>
Data & Results: Hubble Space Telescope spectra are analyzed for 8 strongly lensed systems. The flux from the narrow-line emission region is measured. Focusing on this more physically extended emission mitigates the effects of stellar lensing (so-called microlensing) enabling an accurate measurement of the dark matter halos.
Significance: This effort doubles the number of lensed systems that can be used to measure low-mass dark matter haloes. Measurements of the frequency of such low-mass haloes provide an important constrain on the type of dark matter pervading the universe. Nierenberg, A.M., et al. (2020), MNRAS 492, 5314
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3588
This work was supported by a Hubble Space Telescope award. Light from a background quasar is split into four sources (A,B,C,D) by a foreground lens. Spectroscopy of the four sources disentangles the emission from the source quasar and its parent galaxy, enabling accurate measurement of perturbations caused by the small dark matter haloes within the lens structure. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology Reproduced with permission from MNRAS, © OUP<br>
slide2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology Contact: Secondary Contact:
Anna Nierenberg Leonidas Moustakas
Assistant Professor Astrophysics Section Manager
Department of Physics, University of California 169-506, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Merced, CA 95343 Pasadena, CA 91109
anierenberg@ucmerced.edu leonidas@jpl.nasa.gov
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6809-2536 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3030-2360
Citation:
“Double dark matter vision: twice the number of compact-source lenses with narrow-line lensing and the WFC3 grism”
Nierenberg, A.M., et al. (2020), MNRAS 492, 5314
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz3588
Data Sources:
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Technical Description of Figure:
Optical image of one of the 8 observed systems (WGD J2038-4008), showing how light from a background quasar is split into four sources (A,B,C,D) by a foreground lens. The flux from each source quasar host galaxy has a narrower line width than emission from the central active galactic nucleus, such that Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopy of the four sources can disentangle the emission from the source quasar and its parent galaxy. Focusing on the more extended narrow-line emission from the host galaxy mitigates the effects of stellar lensing (so-called microlensing) enabling an accurate measurement of the dark matter halos.
Scientific significance, societal relevance, and relationships to future missions:
The compact-source lenses observed here can be used to measure low-mass dark matter haloes within each lens.
This effort doubles the number of lensed systems with detectable low-mass dark matter haloes. Measurements of the frequency of such low-mass haloes provide an important constrain on the type of dark matter pervading the universe. The methods used in this paper will be applied to observations of lenses with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
and the Roman Space Telescope (RST, formerly WFIRST).<br>