Determining time delay in the gravitationally lensed system QSO2237+0305

Aims.We considered the possibility of measuring time delays between components of the multiplied quasar QSO2237+0305 and between V and R band variations.
Methods: .The analysis is based on the flux variations of four components observed by the OGLE collaboration and Maidanak group during the last quarter of 2003. The observed gradients of the brightness variations in this period for OGLE data in V band are 3.4 mmag/day, 2.2 mmag/day, 2.4 mmag/day, and 1.1 mmag/day for the components A, B, C, and D, respectively. The variations are probably intrinsic source variations. The basic method used for time-delay measurements is the cross-correlation technique. To estimate the uncertainty of the time-delay measurements, Monte Carlo simulations were carried out.
Results: .The calculations showed the impossibility of unambiguously measuring the differential time delays between the components. The observations at shorter wavelengths seem to be the only way to achieve robust time delay measurements in the system. The wavelength-dependent time delays can be used to provide the evidence of an accretion-disk structure of the central optical variable source. The observed V and R band variations of component C show good correlation with the correlation coefficient of 0.83. However, the obtained time delay, about 16.2 days, and its accuracy are far from reliable.