Mass models and environment of the new quadruply lensed quasar SDSS J1330+1810

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2008-12, Vol.391 (4), p.1973-1980
• Main Authors: Oguri, Masamune, Inada, Naohisa, Blackburne, Jeffrey A., Shin, Min-Su, Kayo, Issha, Strauss, Michael A., Schneider, Donald P., York, Donald G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABSORPTION; Astronomy; Astrophysics,ASTRO, GRQC; CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; GALAXIES; gravitational lensing; QUASARS; quasars: individual: SDSS J133018.65+181032.1; Red shift; SHEAR; SIMULATION; SKY; Spectrum analysis
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.14032.x

We present the discovery of a new quadruply lensed quasar. The lens system, SDSS J1330+1810 at zs= 1.393, was identified as a lens candidate from the spectroscopic sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Optical and near-infrared images clearly show four quasar images with a maximum image separation of 1.76 arcsec, as well as a bright lensing galaxy. We measure a redshift of the lensing galaxy of zl= 0.373 from absorption features in the spectrum. We find a foreground group of galaxies at z= 0.31, centred at ∼120 arcsec south-west of the lens system. Simple mass models fit the data quite well, including the flux ratios between images, although the lens galaxy appears to be ∼1 mag brighter than expected by the Faber–Jackson relation. Our mass modelling suggests that shear from nearby structure is affecting the lens potential.