A Gravitationally Lensed Low-Luminosity AGN From The Cosmic Noon

Abstract

Strong gravitational lensing provides a unique tool of studying intrinsically faint high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGN). In particular, low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN) can probe black-hole growth in low-mass galaxies that current X-ray surveys cannot otherwise access. We investigate the nature and physical properties of a faint X-ray source triply imaged by the galaxy cluster SDSS J2243−0935, and determine whether the source hosts an AGN. We combine archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging and Chandra X-ray observations with the published strong-lensing models of SDSS J2243−0935. We constrain the source redshift geometrically, derive magnification maps, and infer the physical properties of the host galaxy. The geometric lensing analysis gives a source redshift of z=2.14^+0.12_−0.17, consistent with the photometric redshift estimate, and a total magnification of μ=78±7. The source is triply lensed and detected only in the HST F160W band, with an intrinsic magnitude of m_AB=28.2±0.2. The rest-frame optical emission implies a stellar mass of 8.6≲log(M_⋆/M_⊙)≲9.4. The unobscured star formation rate is constrained to SFR_UV<0.009 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, although substantial dust obscuration remains possible. Chandra detects X-ray point-source counterparts to all three HST-detected lensed images. The combined X-ray spectrum contains 100±11 net counts and is consistent with a moderately absorbed power law, with Γ≃ 1.48 and N_H=(5.5±4.4)×10²² cm⁻². After correcting for gravitational magnification, we obtain an intrinsic rest-frame $2−−10$ keV luminosity of L_X=1.2±0.3×10⁴² erg s⁻¹. The X-ray emission is likely dominated by an AGN hosted by a low-mass galaxy at z≃2.14, making this system a strongly lensed LLAGN at cosmic noon (abridged).

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{micic2026gravitationally,
  title = {{A Gravitationally Lensed Low-Luminosity AGN From The Cosmic Noon}},
  author = {Marko Mićić and Olivia Holmes and Xinyu Dai and Kevin Hainline and Haikun Xue and Zijun Gao},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.10244},
  eprint = {2610.10244},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10244},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - A Gravitationally Lensed Low-Luminosity AGN From The Cosmic Noon
AU  - Marko Mićić
AU  - Olivia Holmes
AU  - Xinyu Dai
AU  - Kevin Hainline
AU  - Haikun Xue
AU  - Zijun Gao
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.10244
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10244
AB  - Strong gravitational lensing provides a unique tool of studying intrinsically faint high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGN). In particular, low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN) can probe black-hole growth in low-mass galaxies that current X-ray surveys cannot otherwise access. We investigate the nature and physical properties of a faint X-ray source triply imaged by the galaxy cluster SDSS J2243−0935, and determine whether the source hosts an AGN. We combine archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging and Chandra X-ray observations with the published strong-lensing models of SDSS J2243−0935. We constrain the source redshift geometrically, derive magnification maps, and infer the physical properties of the host galaxy. The geometric lensing analysis gives a source redshift of z=2.14^+0.12_−0.17, consistent with the photometric redshift estimate, and a total magnification of μ=78±7. The source is triply lensed and detected only in the HST F160W band, with an intrinsic magnitude of m_AB=28.2±0.2. The rest-frame optical emission implies a stellar mass of 8.6≲log(M_⋆/M_⊙)≲9.4. The unobscured star formation rate is constrained to SFR_UV<0.009 M_⊙ yr^−1, although substantial dust obscuration remains possible. Chandra detects X-ray point-source counterparts to all three HST-detected lensed images. The combined X-ray spectrum contains 100±11 net counts and is consistent with a moderately absorbed power law, with Γ≃ 1.48 and N_H=(5.5±4.4)×10^22 cm^−2. After correcting for gravitational magnification, we obtain an intrinsic rest-frame $2−−10$ keV luminosity of L_X=1.2±0.3×10^42 erg s^−1. The X-ray emission is likely dominated by an AGN hosted by a low-mass galaxy at z≃2.14, making this system a strongly lensed LLAGN at cosmic noon (abridged).
ER  -

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