A new window of exploration in the mass spectrum: strong lensing by galaxy groups in the SL2S
Bibliographic record
Abstract
The existence of strong lensing systems with Einstein radii covering the full mass spectrum, from ∼$1{-}2\arcsec$ (produced by galaxy scale dark matter haloes) to >$10\arcsec$ (produced by galaxy cluster scale haloes) have long been predicted. Many lenses with Einstein radii around $1{-}2\arcsec$ and above $10\arcsec$ have been reported but very few in between. In this article, we present a sample of 13 strong lensing systems with Einstein radii in the range $3\arcsec{-}8\arcsec$ (or image separations in the range $6\arcsec{-}16\arcsec$), i.e. systems produced by galaxy group scale dark matter haloes. This group sample spans a redshift range from 0.3 to 0.8. This opens a new window of exploration in the mass spectrum, around 1013–1014 $M_{\odot}$, a crucial range for understanding the transition between galaxies and galaxy clusters, and a range that have not been extensively probed with lensing techniques. These systems constitute a subsample of the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey (SL2S), which aims to discover strong lensing systems in the Canada France Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). The sample is based on a search over 100 square degrees, implying a number density of ~0.13 groups per square degree. Our analysis is based on multi-colour CFHTLS images complemented with Hubble Space Telescope imaging and ground based spectroscopy. Large scale properties are derived from both the light distribution of elliptical galaxies group members and weak lensing of the faint background galaxy population. On small scales, the strong lensing analysis yields Einstein radii between 2.5″ and 8″. On larger scales, strong lens centres coincide with peaks of light distribution, suggesting that light traces mass. Most of the luminosity maps have complicated shapes, implying that these intermediate mass structures may be dynamically young. A weak lensing signal is detected for 6 groups and upper limits are provided for 6 others. Fitting the reduced shear with a Singular Isothermal Sphere, we find $\sigma_{\rm SIS}\,\sim 500$ km s-1 with large error bars and an upper limit of ~900 km s-1 for the whole sample (except for the highest redshift structure whose velocity dispersion is consistent with that of a galaxy cluster). The mass-to-light ratio for the sample is found to be $M/L_i$ ~ 250 (solar units, corrected for evolution), with an upper limit of 500. This compares with mass-to-light ratios of small groups (with $\sigma_{\rm SIS} \sim 300$ km s-1) and galaxy clusters (with $\sigma_{\rm SIS} > 1000$ km s-1), thus bridging the gap between these mass scales. The group sample released in this paper will be complemented with other observations, providing a unique sample to study this important intermediate mass range in further detail.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".