H i and OH absorption in the lensing galaxy of MG J0414+0534

  1. S. J. Curran1,*,
  2. J. Darling2,
  3. A. D. Bolatto3,4,
  4. M. T. Whiting5,
  5. C. Bignell6,
  6. J. K. Webb1

Article first published online: 4 OCT 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00379.x

Issue

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

Volume 382, Issue 1, pages L11–L15, November 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Curran, S. J., Darling, J., Bolatto, A. D., Whiting, M. T., Bignell, C. and Webb, J. K. (2007), H i and OH absorption in the lensing galaxy of MG J0414+0534. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 382: L11–L15. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00379.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

  2. 2

    Centre for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, 389 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0389, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Astronomy and Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Astronomy and Laboratory for Millimeter-Wave Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

  5. 5

    CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia

  6. 6

    National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 2, Rt. 28/92 Green Bank, WV 24944-0002, USA

* E-mail: sjc@phys.unsw.edu.au

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 10 OCT 2007
  2. Article first published online: 4 OCT 2007
  3. Accepted 2007 August 9. Received 2007 August 9; in original form 2007 July 24

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Keywords:

  • gravitational lensing;
  • quasars: absorption lines;
  • galaxies: individual: MG J0414+0534;
  • galaxies: ISM;
  • cosmology: observations;
  • early Universe

ABSTRACT

We report the detection of H i 21-cm absorption in the z= 0.96 early-type lensing galaxy towards MG J0414+0534 with the Green Bank Telescope. The absorption, with total NH i= 1.6 × 1018 (Ts/f) cm−2, is resolved into two strong components, probably due to the two strongest lens components, which are separated by 0.4 arcsec. Unlike the other three lenses that have been detected in H i, J0414+0534 does not exhibit strong OH absorption, giving an OH/H i column density ratio of NOH/NH i≲ 10−6 (for Ts= 100 K, Tx= 10 K and fH i=fOH= 1). This underabundance of molecular gas may indicate that the extreme optical–near-infrared colour (V−K= 10.26) along the line of sight is not due to the lens. We therefore suggest that despite the strong upper limits on molecular absorption at the quasar redshift, as traced by millimetre lines, the extinction occurs primarily in the quasar host galaxy.

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