Microlensing variability in the gravitationally lensed quasar QSO 2237+0305 $\mathsf{\equiv}$ the Einstein Cross: II. Energy profile of the accretion disk
We present the continuation of our long-term spectroscopic monitoring of the gravitationally lensed quasar QSO 2237+0305. We investigate the chromatic variations observed in the UV/optical continuum of both quasar images A and B, and compare them with numerical simulations to infer the energy profil...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2008-11, Vol.490 (3), p.933-943 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
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Zusammenfassung: | We present the continuation of our long-term spectroscopic monitoring of the gravitationally lensed quasar QSO 2237+0305. We investigate the chromatic variations observed in the UV/optical continuum of both quasar images A and B, and compare them with numerical simulations to infer the energy profile of the quasar accretion disk. Our procedure combines the microlensing ray- shooting technique with Bayesian analysis, and derives probability distributions for the source sizes as a function of wavelength. We find that the effective caustic crossing timescale is 4.0 pm 1.0 months. Using a robust prior on the effective transverse velocity, we find that the source responsible for the UV/optical continuum has an energy profile well reproduced by a power-law R propto lambda{\zeta} with zeta=1.2 pm 0.3, where R is the source size responsible for the emission at wavelength lambda. This is the first accurate, model-independent determination of the energy profile of a quasar accretion disk on such small scales. |
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ISSN: | 0004-6361 1432-0746 |
DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361:200810729 |