• The effects of plasma on the magnification and time delay of strongly lensed fast radio bursts

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The number of identified Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) is increasing rapidly with current and future facilities. Strongly lensed FRBs are expected to be found as well, which can provide precise time delays and thus have rich applications in cosmology and fundamental physics. However, the radio signal of lensed FRBs will be deflected by plasma in lens galaxies in addition to gravity. Such deflections by both gravity and plasma will cause frequency dependent time delays, which are different from the dispersion delay and the geometric delay caused by gravitational lensing. Depending on the lensing and plasma models, the frequency-time delay relation of the lensed images can show distinguishing behaviours either between the multiple images, or from the dispersion relation. Such phenomena cannot be neglected in future studies, especially at low radio frequency, as plasma exists in lens galaxies in general. More importantly, such information provides not only a potential way to search for lensed FRBs, but also constraints on the mass and plasma distributions in lens galaxy. In particular, plasma may make the missing central images observable at low radio frequency.

  • On the double-plane plasma lensing

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Plasma lensing is the refraction of low-frequency electromagnetic rays due to cold free electrons in the universe. For sources at a cosmological distance, there is observational evidence of elongated, complex plasma structures along the line of sight requiring a multi-lens-plane description. To investigate the limits of single-plane plasma lensing, we set up a double-plane lens with a projected Gaussian electron density in each lens plane. We compare double-plane scenarios with corresponding effective single-plane configurations. Our results show how double-plane lenses can be distinguished from single-plane lenses by observables, i.e. resolved multiple image positions, relative magnifications, time delays, and pulse shapes. For plasma lensing of fast radio bursts, the observed pulse shape may be dominated by the lensing effect, allowing us to neglect the intrinsic source pulse shape to distinguish different lensing configurations. The time-domain observables turn out to be the most salient features to tell multi- and single-plane lenses apart.

  • Binary microlensing with plasma environment -- Star and planet

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Galactic microlensing has been widely used to study the star and planet. The stellar wind plays an important role in the formation, environment and habitability of the planet. In this work we study a binary microlensing system including the stellar wind, i.e. a star with plasma environment plus a planet. Plasma surrounding the main lens causes chromatic deflection of the light rays, in addition to the gravitational one. As a result, such a lensing system can generate complicated caustics which depends on the different lensing parameters. In this work we study the magnification curves for different traces of the background source and compare the transitions of the formation of ``hill and hole'' in the magnification curves. We find that the plasma will cause extra caustic, shrink the central caustics generated by the star and push the caustic by the planet outwards. Observations and modelling of binary microlensing curves with taking plasma effect into account can provide a potential method to study plasma environment of the stars. In case of a high plasma density of the stellar wind, the plasma lensing effects will be observable in the sub-mm band.

  • Binary microlensing with plasma environment -- Star and planet

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Galactic microlensing has been widely used to study the star and planet. The stellar wind plays an important role in the formation, environment and habitability of the planet. In this work we study a binary microlensing system including the stellar wind, i.e. a star with plasma environment plus a planet. Plasma surrounding the main lens causes chromatic deflection of the light rays, in addition to the gravitational one. As a result, such a lensing system can generate complicated caustics which depends on the different lensing parameters. In this work we study the magnification curves for different traces of the background source and compare the transitions of the formation of ``hill and hole'' in the magnification curves. We find that the plasma will cause extra caustic, shrink the central caustics generated by the star and push the caustic by the planet outwards. Observations and modelling of binary microlensing curves with taking plasma effect into account can provide a potential method to study plasma environment of the stars. In case of a high plasma density of the stellar wind, the plasma lensing effects will be observable in the sub-mm band.

  • Prospects of the Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope in the Cosmological Application of Type Ia Supernovae

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2024-05-10 合作期刊: 《Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics》

    摘要: The Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope (Mephisto) is a real-time, three-color photometric system designed to capture the color evolution of stars and transients accurately. This telescope system can be crucial in cosmological distance measurements of low-redshift (low-z, z ≲0.1) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). To optimize the capabilities of this instrument, we perform a comprehensive simulation study before its official operation is scheduled to start. By considering the impact of atmospheric extinction, weather conditions, and the lunar phase at the observing site involving the instrumental features, we simulate light curves of SNe Ia obtained by Mephisto. The best strategy in the case of SN Ia cosmology is to take the image at an exposure time of 130 s with a cadence of 3 days. In this condition, Mephisto can obtain hundreds of high-quality SNe Ia to achieve a distance measurement better than 4.5%. Given the on-time spectral classification and monitoring of the Lijiang 2.4 m Telescope at the same observatory, Mephisto, in the whole operation, can significantly enrich the well-calibrated sample of supernovae at low-z and improve the calibration accuracy of high-z SNe Ia.

  • Bias in apparent dispersion measure due to de-magnification of plasma lensing on background radio sources

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The effect of ionized gas on the propagation of radio signals is known as plasma lensing. Unlike gravitational lensing, plasma lensing causes both magnification and strong de-magnification effects to background sources. We study the cross section of plasma lensing for two density profiles, the Gaussian and power-law models. In general, the cross section increases with the density gradient. Radio sources can be used to measure the free electron density along the line of sight. However, plasma lensing de-magnification causes an underestimate of the electron density. Such a bias increases with the electron density, and can be up to $\sim 15\%$ in the high density region. There is a large probability that high density clumps will be missed due to this bias. The magnification of plasma lensing can also change the luminosity function of the background sources. The number density of sources on both the high and low luminosity ends can be overestimated due to this biasing effect.

  • Forecast of observing time delay of the strongly lensed quasars with Muztagh-Ata 1.93m telescope

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: As a completely independent method, the measurement of time delay of strongly lensed quasars (TDSL) are crucial to resolve the Hubble tension. Extensive monitoring is required but so far limited to a small sample of strongly lensed quasars. Together with several partner institutes, Beijing Normal University is constructing a 1.93m reflector telescope at the Muztagh-Ata site in west China, which has the world class observing conditions. The telescope will be equipped with both a three-channel imager/photometer which covers $3500-11000$ Angstrom wavelength band, and a low-medium resolution ($\lambda/\delta\lambda=500/2000/7500$) spectrograph. In this paper, we investigate the capability of Muztagh-Ata 1.93m telescope in measuring time delays of strongly lensed quasars. We generate mock strongly lensed quasar systems and light curves with microlensing effects based on five known strongly lensed quasars, i.e., RX J1131-1231, HE 0435-1223, PG 1115+080, WFI 2033-4723 and SDSS 1206+4332. In particular, RX J1131-1231 is generated with lens modeling in this work. Due to lack of enough information, we simulate the other 4 systems with the public data without lens modeling. According to simulations, for RX J1131-like systems (wide variation in time delay between images) the TDSL measurement can be achieved with the precision about $\Delta t=0.5$ day with 4 seasons campaign length and 1 day cadence. This accuracy is comparable to the up-coming TDCOSMO project. And it would be better when the campaign length keeps longer and with high cadence. As a result, the capability of Muztagh-Ata 1.93m telescope allows it to join the network of TDSL observatories. It will enrich the database for strongly lensed quasar observations and make more precise measurements of time delays, especially considering the unique coordinate of the site.