Paper detail

Gravitational lens system B0218+357: constraints on lens model and Hubble constant

The possibility to use observations of lensed relativistic jets on very small angular scales to construct proper models of spiral lens galaxies and to independently determine the Hubble constant is considered. On the example of the system B0218+357 it is shown that there exists a great choice of model parameters adequately reproducing its observed large-scale properties but leading to a significant spread in the Hubble constant. The jet image position angle is suggested as an additional parameter that allows the range of models under consideration to be limited. It is shown that the models for which the jet image position angles differ by at least 40 deg can be distinguished between themselves during observations on very small angular scales. Observations with the space interferometer RadioAstron-Earth is proposed to determine the jet orientation.