Paper detail

The Mass Distribution of the Lens Galaxy in MG1131+0456

We present the results of modeling 5, 8 and 15 GHz maps of the gravitational lens MG1131+0456 using the LensClean algorithm. Two models for the mass distribution in the lens were fit: a de Vaucouleurs model and a model with the two-dimensional potential phi = b^{2-alpha}(r^2+s^2)^{alpha/2}/2alpha, both in an external shear field. The best fit de Vaucouleurs model has an effective radius of R_e = 0.83+-0.13 arcseconds, larger than that measured at optical wavelengths. The best fit ``alpha model'' has alpha=0.6+-0.2 and a core radius of s = 0.19 +- 0.07 arcseconds. An isothermal model (alpha=1) is inconsistent with the data. The best alpha model fits the 8 GHz map significantly better than the best de Vaucouleurs model. Although it is difficult to distinguish visually the original image and the reconstructions, none of the models is statistically consistent with the data. We believe the primary problem is that an external shear is an inadequate model for the angular structure of the lens galaxy. The finite core radius in the models is required by the structure of the extended ring, so we confirm that the central component in the 8 GHz map is a central, lensed image of the source rather than the lens galaxy. The model lens positions, the position angle of the shear, and the mass interior to the ring are determined very precisely by the lens models. The time delay between the compact components is predicted with an uncertainty we estimate to be at most +- 9%; the formal uncertainty is +- 4%.