Astro2020 Science White Paper - Quasar Microlensing: Revolutionizing our Understanding of Quasar Structure and Dynamics
| Autor: | Moustakas, Leonidas, O'Dowd, Matthew, Anguita, Timo, Webster, Rachel, Chartas, George, Cornachione, Matthew, Dai, Xinyu, Fian, Carina, Hutsemekers, Damien, Jimenez-Vicente, Jorge, Labrie, Kathleen, Lewis, Geraint, Macleod, Chelsea, Mediavilla, Evencio, Morgan, Christopher W, Motta, Veronica, Nierenberg, Anna, Pooley, David, Rojas, Karina, Sluse, Dominique, Vernardos, Georgios, Wambsganss, Joachim, Yong, Suk Yee |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) FOS: Physical sciences Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics |
| DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.1904.12967 |
| Popis: | Microlensing by stars within distant galaxies acting as strong gravitational lenses of multiply-imaged quasars, provides a unique and direct measurement of the internal structure of the lensed quasar on nano-arcsecond scales. The measurement relies on the temporal variation of high-magnification caustic crossings which vary on timescales of days to years. Multiwavelength observations provide information from distinct emission regions in the quasar. Through monitoring of these strong gravitational lenses, a full tomographic view can emerge with Astronomical-Unit scale resolution. Work to date has demonstrated the potential of this technique in about a dozen systems. In the 2020s there will be orders of magnitude more systems to work with. Monitoring of lens systems for caustic-crossing events to enable triggering of multi-platform, multi-wavelength observations in the 2020s will fulfill the potential of quasar microlensing as a unique and comprehensive probe of active black hole structure and dynamics. Comment: White paper submitted to Astro2020 decadal survey; 7 pages, 3 figures |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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