Detection of the 2175 Å Extinction Feature at z = 0.83

Motta, V.; Mediavilla, E.; Muñoz, J. A.; Falco, E.; Kochanek, C. S.; Arribas, S.; García-Lorenzo, B.; Oscoz, A.; Serra-Ricart, M.
Bibliographical reference

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 574, Issue 2, pp. 719-725.

Advertised on:
8
2002
Number of authors
9
IAC number of authors
6
Citations
91
Refereed citations
80
Description
We determine the extinction curve in the zl=0.83 lens galaxy of the gravitational lens SBS 0909+532 from the wavelength dependence of the flux ratio between the lensed quasar images (zs=1.38) from 3400 to 9200 Å. It is the first measurement of an extinction curve at a cosmological distance of comparable quality to those obtained within the Galaxy. The extinction curve has a strong 2175 Å feature, a noteworthy fact because it has been weak or nonexistent in most estimates of extinction curves outside the Galaxy. The extinction curve is fitted well by a standard RV=2.1+/-0.9 Galactic extinction curve. If we assume standard Galactic extinction laws, the estimated dust redshift of z=0.88+/-0.02 is in good agreement with the spectroscopic redshift of the lens galaxy. The widespread assumption that SMC extinction curves are more appropriate models for cosmological dust may be incorrect.