Limits on MACHOs from microlensing in the double quasar Q0957+561

The light curves of the two images of the double quasar Q0957+561 as obtained by Kundicet al. (1997) are almost identical, except for an overall time delay and scaling factor. This allows us to put limits on the amount of microlensing that took place during the time interval corresponding to the monitoring observations. We perform numerical simulations in which we model the microlensing behaviour of the (halo of the) lensing galaxy in the system. We test ``MACHO-masses'' ranging from 10(-8) to 10(-1) M_sun and quasar sizes from 10(14) to 3x 10(15) cm. Statistically comparing the expected microlensing-induced changes from 100 000 simulated light curves over a period of 160 days with the (lack of) observed fluctuations, we can constrain regions in the parameter space of MACHO mass and quasar size with various degrees of confidence. In particular, a halo consisting of objects at the low end of our mass scale can be ruled out with high confidence for a small quasar size. A halo consisting of objects with 10(-2) or 10(-1) M_sun cannot be ruled out yet, but it should produce MACHO induced fluctuations in future observations. We also test halos with only 50% or 25% of the mass in compact objects; constraints here are a bit less stringent.