Exploiting the IRT-THESEUS Capability to Observe Lensed Quasars

THESEUS is an ESA space based project, which aims to explore the early universe by unveiling a complete census of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) population in the first billion years. This goal is expected to be realized by the combined observations of its three instruments on board: the Soft X-ray Imager (S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Galaxies 2021-06, Vol.9 (2), p.35
Main Authors: Hamolli, Lindita, Hafizi, Mimoza, De Paolis, Francesco, Nucita, Achille A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomical models
Distribution functions
Galaxies
Galaxy distribution
Gamma ray bursts
Gamma rays
gravitational lensing
Imaging spectrometers
Information sources
infrared observation
Infrared spectrometers
Infrared telescopes
Light
Luminosity
Mass distribution
Monte Carlo simulation
Physical properties
Quasars
Red shift
Sky surveys (astronomy)
Soft x rays
Space telescopes
Spectrum analysis
Stars & galaxies
Universe
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Summary:THESEUS is an ESA space based project, which aims to explore the early universe by unveiling a complete census of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) population in the first billion years. This goal is expected to be realized by the combined observations of its three instruments on board: the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), the X and Gamma Imaging Spectrometer (XGIS), and the InfraRed Telescope (IRT). This last one will identify, localise, and study the afterglow of the GRBs detected by SXI and XGIS, and about 40% of its time will be devoted to an all-sky photometric survey, which will certainly detect a relevant number of extragalactic sources, including Quasars. In this paper, we focus on the capability of IRT-THESEUS Telescope to observe Quasars and, in particular, Quasars lensed by foreground galaxies. In our analysis we consider the recent results for the Quasar Luminosity Function (QLF) in the infrared band based on the Spitzer Space Telescope imaging survey. In order to estimate the number of lensed Quasars, we develop Monte Carlo simulations using the mass-luminosity distribution function of galaxies and the galaxy and Quasar redshift distributions. We predict about 2.14 × 105 Quasars to be observed during IRT-Theseus sky survey, and approximately 140 of them lensed by foreground galaxies. Detailed studies of these events would provide a powerful probe of the physical properties of Quasars and the mass distribution models of the galaxies.
ISSN:2075-4434
2075-4434
DOI:10.3390/galaxies9020035