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Is 1146+111B, C a lensed quasar or a quasar pair?

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Abstract

It has been speculated1,2 that the quasar pair 1146+B, C are two bright images of a single quasar produced by a gravitational lens. Here I report additional observations of these objects, made with an ultraviolet-sensitive spectrograph on the Multiple Mirror Telescope, which span the wavelength range 3,200–7,000 Å, and include the strong C III] line, as well as several Fe II bands not covered in earlier spectra. The ultraviolet spectra of the two quasars are different. There are also different velocity shifts between the quasars as measured by the C III] and Mg II lines. Although it is impossible to rule out the lensing hypothesis, these observations increase the probability that these objects are just two quasars at nearly the same redshift.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA

    J. P. Huchra

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  1. J. P. Huchra
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Huchra, J. Is 1146+111B, C a lensed quasar or a quasar pair?. Nature 323, 784–786 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323784a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323784a0

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