PKS 1830-211 is a gravitationally-lensed blazar in the southern constellation of Sagittarius, one of the most powerful such objects known.[4] It has a high redshift (z) of 2.507, an indicator of its significant distance.[2] This flat-spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ)[3] is one of the brightest extraterrestrial radio sources.[5] In visible light, identification of this object is hampered by the galactic plane and an M-type star that lies near the line of sight.[2]

PKS 1830-211
HST image of PKG 1830-211 (center)
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
ConstellationSagittarius
Right ascension18h 33m 39.949s[1]
Declination−21° 03′ 39.37″[1]
Redshift2.507±0.002[2]
TypeFSRQ[3]
Other designations
3FGL J1833.6-2103[3]
See also: Quasar, List of quasars

This quasar was first detected in 1969 during a radio survey by the Parkes Observatory in Australia. In 1984, it was found to display interplanetary scintillation, suggesting structure on angular scales of less than an arc second. Radio observations in 1988 found an unusual double structure separated by an angle of ~1 arc second. The flat radio spectrum and double structure of this feature are suggestive of gravitational lensing by a foreground galaxy.[6] Interferometric radio telescope observation was used to detect an unusually bright Einstein ring in 1991,[7] spanning a radius of 1″.[2][8]

Radio observations of PKS 1830-211 made over a 13-month period were used to measure changes in flux density. Both components displayed dramatic changes in their flux level, with the fluctuation on one component matched by the other about 44 days later. This lent strong support to the idea this is a gravitationally lensed system.[9] The time delay was refined to 26+4
−5
 days in 1998.[10] In 1996, absorption of neutral hydrogen was detected at a redshift of 0.19, suggesting a possible second lensing galaxy for a compound gravitational lens.[11] This object was confirmed via infrared imagery in 2005.[12] However, this second galaxy is thought to have a negligible effect on the overall lensing.[13]

Imaging of the quasar with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002 identified the lens galaxy as a normal spiral galaxy at a redshift of 0.886. It is inclined at an angle of 25° to the plane of the sky, appearing nearly face-on.[10] Based on the size of the Einstein ring, this galaxy has a mass of about 1011 M, which is comparable to the Milky Way.[4] An independent analysis of the same imaging data suggested the possible presence of a main-sequence star within 0.5″ of the target.[14] A third point-like lensed image of the quasar was detected in 2020, located part way between the other two.[13] PKS 1830-211 is a source for gamma-ray emission that undergoes significant flaring.[15]

PKS 1830-211 has been used as a radio source for measuring redshifted molecular species, including ArH+, CF+, HCN, HCO+, H2O, NH3, and OH+.[16][17][18][19] As of 2014, it is the "extragalactic object with the largest number of detected molecular species".[20] In 2023, Rydberg atoms were detected in the foreground galaxy by the MeerKAT telescope array.[5][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 649: A1. arXiv:2012.01533. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. S2CID 227254300. (Erratum: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ^ a b c d Lidman, C.; et al. (April 1999), "The Redshift of the Gravitationally Lensed Radio Source PKS 1830-211", The Astrophysical Journal, 514 (2): L57–L60, arXiv:astro-ph/9902317, Bibcode:1999ApJ...514L..57L, doi:10.1086/311949.
  3. ^ a b c Abhir, J.; et al. (July 2021), "Study of Temporal and Spectral variability for Blazar PKS 1830-211 with Multiwavelength Data", The Astrophysical Journal, 915 (1), id. 26, arXiv:2103.07188, Bibcode:2021ApJ...915...26A, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abfd33.
  4. ^ a b Neronov, Andrii; et al. (August 2015), "Central engine of a gamma-ray blazar resolved through the magnifying glass of gravitational microlensing", Nature Physics, 11 (8): 664–667, Bibcode:2015NatPh..11..664N, doi:10.1038/nphys3376.
  5. ^ a b MeerKAT discovers a distant galaxy has very large hydrogen atoms, South Africa Radio Astronomy Observatory, February 15, 2023, retrieved 2024-10-17.
  6. ^ Pramesh Rao, A.; Subrahmanyan, R. (March 1988), "1830-211 - a flat spectrum radio source with double structure.", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 231 (2): 229–236, Bibcode:1988MNRAS.231..229P, doi:10.1093/mnras/231.2.229.
  7. ^ Jauncey, D. L.; et al. (July 1991), "An unusually strong Einstein ring in the radio source PKS1830-211", Nature, 352 (6331): 132–134, Bibcode:1991Natur.352..132J, doi:10.1038/352132a0.
  8. ^ Nair, Sunita; et al. (April 1993), "PKS 1830-211 as a Gravitationally Lensed System", Astrophysical Journal, 407: 46, Bibcode:1993ApJ...407...46N, doi:10.1086/172491.
  9. ^ van Ommen, T. D.; et al. (May 1995), "Time Delay in the Einstein Ring PKS 1830-211", Astrophysical Journal, 444: 561, Bibcode:1995ApJ...444..561V, doi:10.1086/175630.
  10. ^ a b Winn, Joshua N.; et al. (August 2002), "PKS 1830-211: A Face-on Spiral Galaxy Lens", The Astrophysical Journal, 575 (1): 103–110, arXiv:astro-ph/0201551, Bibcode:2002ApJ...575..103W, doi:10.1086/341265.
  11. ^ Lovell, J. E. J.; et al. (November 1996), "PKS 1830-211: A Possible Compound Gravitational Lens", Astrophysical Journal Letters, 472: L5, arXiv:astro-ph/9609117, Bibcode:1996ApJ...472L...5L, doi:10.1086/310353.
  12. ^ Meylan, G.; et al. (August 2005), "Confirmation of two extended objects along the line of sight to PKS 1830-211 with ESO-VLT adaptive optics imaging", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 438 (3): L37–L40, arXiv:astro-ph/0506634, Bibcode:2005A&A...438L..37M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200500145.
  13. ^ a b Muller, S.; et al. (September 2020), "All good things come in threes: the third image of the lensed quasar PKS 1830-211", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 641, id. L2, arXiv:2008.08395, Bibcode:2020A&A...641L...2M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038978.
  14. ^ Courbin, F.; et al. (August 2002), "Cosmic Alignment toward the Radio Einstein Ring PKS 1830-211?", The Astrophysical Journal, 575 (1): 95–102, arXiv:astro-ph/0202026, Bibcode:2002ApJ...575...95C, doi:10.1086/341261.
  15. ^ Vercellone, S.; et al. (January 2024), "Multiwavelength observations of the lensed quasar PKS 1830-211 during the 2019 γ-ray flare", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 527 (3): 5717–5731, arXiv:2311.07332, Bibcode:2024MNRAS.527.5717V, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3505.
  16. ^ Muller, S.; et al. (November 2016), "OH+ and H2O+ absorption toward PKS 1830-211", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 595, id. A128, arXiv:1609.01060, Bibcode:2016A&A...595A.128M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629073.
  17. ^ Muller, S.; et al. (May 2016), "Detection of extragalactic CF+ toward PKS 1830-211. Chemical differentiation in the absorbing gas", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 589, id. L5, arXiv:1604.00414, Bibcode:2016A&A...589L...5M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628494.
  18. ^ Müller, Holger S. P.; et al. (October 2015), "Detection of extragalactic argonium, ArH+, toward PKS 1830-211", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 582, id. L4, arXiv:1509.06917, Bibcode:2015A&A...582L...4M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201527254.
  19. ^ Combes, F.; et al. (April 2021), "PKS 1830-211: OH and H I at z = 0.89 and the first MeerKAT UHF spectrum", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 648, id. A116, arXiv:2101.00188, Bibcode:2021A&A...648A.116C, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202040167.
  20. ^ Muller, S.; et al. (June 2014), "An ALMA Early Science survey of molecular absorption lines toward PKS 1830-211. Analysis of the absorption profiles", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 566, id. A112, arXiv:1404.7667, Bibcode:2014A&A...566A.112M, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201423646.
  21. ^ Emig, Kimberly L.; et al. (August 2015), "Discovery of Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines at z = 0.89 toward PKS 1830-211", The Astrophysical Journal, 809 (1), id. 100, arXiv:1504.05210, Bibcode:2015ApJ...809..100B, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/809/1/100.

Further reading

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