Near-Infrared K and L' Flux Ratios in Six Lensed Quasars

TL;DR

This study investigates how flux ratios in gravitationally lensed quasars vary between K and L' wavelengths, revealing insights into small-scale structures in lens galaxies and the effects of microlensing, dust, and dark matter substructure.

Contribution

It provides the first comparative analysis of K and L' flux ratios in multiple lensed quasars, highlighting wavelength-dependent effects and potential substructure evidence.

Findings

Four out of six lenses show flux ratio differences between K and L' bands.

Some differences are due to microlensing or intrinsic variability.

Potential indication of substructure in SDSS 0806+2006.

Abstract

We examine the wavelength dependence of flux ratios for six gravitationally lensed quasars using K and L' images obtained at the Gemini North 8m telescope. We select lenses with source redshifts z_s < 2.8 so that K-band images probe rest-frame optical emission from accretion disks, while L'-band images probe rest-frame near-infrared flux emitted (in part) from the more extended surrounding torus. Since the observations correspond to different source sizes, the K and L' flux ratios are sensitive to structure on different scales and may be useful for studying small-structure in the lens galaxies. Four of the six lenses show differences between K and L' flux ratios. In HE 0435$-1223, SDSS 0246-0825, and HE 2149-2745 the differences may be attributable to known microlensing and/or intrinsic variability. In SDSS 0806+2006 the wavelength dependence is not easily attributed to known variations, and may indicate the presence of substructure. By contrast, in Q0142-100 and SBS 0909+523 the K and L' flux ratios are consistent within the uncertainties. We discuss the utility of the current data for studying chromatic effects related to microlensing, dust extinction, and dark matter substructure.