Modeling the Images of Relativistic Jets Lensed by Galaxies with Different Mass Surface Density Distributions

TL;DR

This paper models the images of relativistic jets lensed by galaxies with various mass distributions, comparing models and observations to understand lensing effects and implications for the Hubble constant.

Contribution

It introduces detailed models of galaxy mass distributions for gravitational lensing of relativistic jets, analyzing their effects on observed images and the Hubble constant.

Findings

Different mass models produce varying image geometries.

Multicomponent models fit observed systems but yield diverse Hubble constant estimates.

Model parameters significantly influence lensing interpretations.

Abstract

The images of relativistic jets from extragalactic sources produced by gravitational lensing by galaxies with different mass surface density distributions are modeled. In particular, the following models of the gravitational lens mass distribution are considered: a singular isothermal ellipsoid, an isothermal ellipsoid with a core, two- and three-component models with a galactic disk, halo, and bulge. The modeled images are compared both between themselves and with available observations. Different sets of parameters are shown to exist for the gravitationally lensed system B0218+357 in multicomponent models. These sets allow the observed geometry of the system and the intensity ratio of the compact core images to be obtained, but they lead to a significant variety in the Hubble constant determined from the modeling results.