A Highly Magnified Gravitationally Lensed Red QSO at z=2.5 with a Significant Flux Ratio Anomaly

We present the discovery of a gravitationally lensed dust-reddened QSO at z = 2.517, identified in a survey for QSOs by infrared selection. Hubble Space Telescope imaging reveals a quadruply lensed system in a cusp configuration, with a maximum image separation of similar to 1 8. We find that, compared to the central image of the cusp, the neighboring brightest image is anomalous by a factor of similar to 7-10, which is the largest flux anomaly measured to date in a lensed QSO. Incorporating high-resolution Very Large Array radio imaging and submillimeter imaging with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, we conclude that a low-mass perturber is the most likely explanation for the anomaly. The optical through near-infrared spectrum reveals that the QSO is moderately reddened with E(B - V) ?0.7-0.9. We see an upturn in the ultraviolet spectrum due to similar to 1% of the intrinsic emission being leaked back into the line of sight, which suggests that the reddening is intrinsic and not due to the lens. The QSO may have an Eddington ratio as high as L/L-Edd asymptotic to 0.2. Consistent with previous red QSO samples, this source exhibits outflows in its spectrum, as well as morphological properties suggestive of it being in a merger-driven transitional phase. We find a host galaxy stellar mass of log M-(SIC) M-? = 11.4, which is higher than the local MBH versus M-(SIC) relation but consistent with other high-redshift QSOs. When demagnified, this QSO is at the knee of the luminosity function, allowing for the detailed study of a more typical moderate-luminosity infrared-selected QSO at high redshift.

Automated summary

We have discovered a redshifted, gravitationally lensed dust-reddened QSO at z=2.517. This QSO exhibits a quadruply lensed system in a cusp configuration, with the largest flux anomaly measured to date. Radio and submillimeter imaging support the presence of a low-mass perturber as the most likely explanation for the anomaly. The QSO displays a moderately reddened spectrum, with an intrinsic reddening and outflows indicative of a merger-driven transitional phase.