New Dynamical Measurements from a Lensed Quasar Sample: Joint Analysis Constrains the Mass Profile Evolution of Lens Galaxies

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ID: 315909
2026
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Abstract
Abstract We present a systematic study of the internal mass structure of early-type galaxies (ETGs) based on 106 galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses with background quasars, all having spectroscopic redshifts. From this parent sample, we select 24 systems that possess the high-quality ancillary data necessary for a joint analysis of strong-lensing geometry and stellar kinematics, with lens redshifts spanning 0.195 ≤ zl ≤ 0.867. A key contribution is the derivation of new single-aperture stellar velocity dispersions for 11 lens galaxies via an iterative spectroscopic fitting procedure that mitigates quasar contamination, providing previously unavailable data. We model the total mass-density profile as a power law, ρ∝r−γ, and parameterise its logarithmic slope as $\gamma = \gamma _0 + \gamma _z \cdot z_l + \gamma _s \cdot \log \tilde{\Sigma }$, where zl is the lens redshift and $\tilde{\Sigma }$ the surface mass density. Within a flat ΛCDM framework and using DESI BAO measurements as a prior, we constrain the parameters via Monte Carlo nested sampling to $\gamma _0 = 1.62^{+0.11}_{-0.12}$, $\gamma _z = -0.35^{+0.08}_{-0.09}$, and $\gamma _s = 0.37^{+0.08}_{-0.07}$ (68% confidence intervals). Our results robustly demonstrate that γ increases with surface mass density (γs > 0) and decreases with redshift (γz < 0). This implies that, at fixed redshift, galaxies with denser stellar cores have steeper mass profiles, while at fixed density, profiles become shallower at higher redshifts. By successfully applying the joint lensing–dynamics method to a substantial, independently acquired sample of lensed quasars, this work provides crucial validation of structural trends previously observed in galaxy–galaxy lensing systems, reinforcing the established evolutionary picture for massive ETGs and establishing lensed quasars as a potent probe of galaxy structure.
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Authors Ziyu Guo, Yun Chen, Yiping Shu, Jiaze Gao, Hui Li, Zizhao He, Yì Wáng
Journal monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/mnras/stag1029
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag1029
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