A Molecular Einstein Ring Toward the z=3.93 Submillimeter Galaxy MM18423+593

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution imaging to confirm gravitational lensing of a distant submillimeter galaxy, revealing a molecular Einstein ring and estimating the lensing effects on its luminosity and gas mass.

Contribution

First direct imaging of a molecular Einstein ring in a high-redshift galaxy, providing detailed lensing analysis and revised luminosity and mass estimates.

Findings

CO emission forms a complete Einstein ring with ~1.4" diameter.

Estimated lens magnification factor is approximately 12.

Revised far-IR luminosity is between 2x10^13 and 3x10^14 solar luminosities.

Abstract

We present high resolution imaging of the low order (J=1 and 2) CO line emission from the z = 3.93 submillimeter galaxy (SMG) MM18423+5938 using the Expanded Very Large Array, and optical and near-IR imaging using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. This SMG with a spectroscopic redshift was thought to be gravitationally lensed given its enormous apparent brightness. We find that the CO emission is consistent with a complete Einstein ring with a major axis diameter of ~ 1.4", indicative of lensing. We have also identified the lens galaxy as a very red elliptical coincident with the geometric center of the ring and estimated its photometric redshift z~1.1. A first estimate of the lens magnification factor is m~12. The luminosity L'_CO(1-0) of the CO(1-0) emission is 2.71+/-0.38 x10^11/m K km s^-1 pc^2, and, adopting the commonly used conversion factor for ULIRGs, the molecular gas mass is M(H_2) = 2.2 x10^11/m M_sol, comparable to unlensed SMGs if corrected by m ~ 12. Our revised estimate of the far-IR luminosity of MM18423+5938 is 2 x10^13/m < L_FIR < 3 x10^14/m L_sol, comparable to that of ULIRGs. Further observations are required to quantify the star formation rate in MM18423+5938 and to constrain the mass model of the lens in more detail.