Source-plane Reconstruction of the Bright Lensed Galaxy RCSGA 032727-132609

We present new Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 imaging data of RCSGA 032727-132609, a bright lensed galaxy at z = 1.7 that is magnified and stretched by the lensing cluster RCS2 032727-132623. Using this new high-resolution imaging, we modify our previous lens model (which was based on ground-based data) to fully understand the lensing geometry, and use it to reconstruct the lensed galaxy in the source plane. This giant arc represents a unique opportunity to peer into 100 pc scale structures in a high-redshift galaxy. This new source reconstruction will be crucial for a future analysis of the spatially resolved rest-UV and rest-optical spectra of the brightest parts of the arc.

Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with program GO-12267.