A Hubble Space Telescope lensing survey of X-ray luminous galaxy clusters - III. A multiply imaged extremely red galaxy at z=1.6
Abstract
We present near-infrared spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of galaxy J003707+0909.5, the brightest of three gravitationally lensed images of an extremely red object (ERO) at z=1.6, in the field of the massive cluster A68 (z=0.255). We exploit the superlative resolution of our HST data and the enhanced spatial resolution and sensitivity afforded by the lens amplification to reconstruct the source-plane properties of this ERO. Our morphological and photometric analysis reveals that EROJ003707 is an L* early-type disc galaxy and we estimate that ~10 per cent of galaxies with (R-K)>=5.3 and K<=21 may have similar properties. The unique association of passive EROs with elliptical galaxies therefore appears to be too simplistic. We speculate on the evolution of EROJ003707: if gas continues to cool on to this galaxy in the manner predicted by hierarchical galaxy formation models, then by the present day, EROJ003707 could evolve into a very luminous spiral galaxy.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- June 2002
- DOI:
- 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05501.x
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/0203402
- Bibcode:
- 2002MNRAS.333L..16S
- Keywords:
-
- gravitational lensing;
- galaxies: clusters: individual: A68 galaxies: evolution;
- galaxies: high-redshift;
- galaxies: individual: EROJ003707+0909.5 galaxies: spiral;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Accepted for publication by MNRAS (Submitted: March 8, Accepted: March 14) - 5 pages, 3 figures