Discovery of a Multiply-Lensed Submillimeter Galaxy in Early HerMES Herschel/SPIRE Data

Abstract

We report the discovery of a bright ($f(250mum) > 400$ mJy), multiply-lensed submillimeter galaxy obj in {it Herschel}/SPIRE Science Demonstration Phase data from the HerMES project. Interferometric 880mum Submillimeter Array observations resolve at least four images with a large separation of $sim 9arcsec$. A high-resolution adaptive optics $Kp$ image with Keck/NIRC2 clearly shows strong lensing arcs. Follow-up spectroscopy gives a redshift of $z=2.9575$, and the lensing model gives a total magnification of $mu sim 11 pm 1$. The large image separation allows us to study the multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) of the lensed source unobscured by the central lensing mass. The far-IR/millimeter-wave SED is well described by a modified blackbody fit with an unusually warm dust temperature, $88 pm 3$ K. We derive a lensing-corrected total IR luminosity of $(1.43 pm 0.09) times 10^{13}, mathrm{L}{odot}$, implying a star formation rate of $sim 2500, mathrm{M}_{odot}, mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. However, models primarily developed from brighter galaxies selected at longer wavelengths are a poor fit to the full optical-to-millimeter SED. A number of other strongly lensed systems have already been discovered in early {it Herschel} data, and many more are expected as additional data are collected.

http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.4113v1

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