Sub-milliarcsec-scale structure of the gravitational lens B1600+434

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany e-mail: apatnaik@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
² National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 0, Socorro, NM 87801, USA

Corresponding author: A. J. Kemball, akemball@nrao.edu

Received: 6 March 2001
Accepted: 25 May 2001

Abstract

In the gravitational lens system B1600+434 the brighter image, A, is known to show rapid variability which is not detected in the weaker image, B (Koopmans & de Bruyn [CITE]). Since correlated variability is one of the fundamental properties of gravitational lensing, it has been proposed that image A is microlensed by stars in the halo of the lensing galaxy (Koopmans & de Bruyn [CITE]). We present VLBA observations of B1600+434 at 15 GHz with a resolution of 0.5 milliarcsec to determine the source structure at high spatial resolution. The surface brightness of the images are significantly different, with image A being more compact. This is in apparent contradiction with the required property of gravitational lensing that surface brightness be preserved. Our results suggest that both the lensed images may show two-sided elongation at this resolution, a morphology which does not necessarily favour superluminal motion. Instead these data may suggest that image B is scatter-broadened at the lens so that its size is larger than that of A, and hence scintillates less than image A.