Spectroscopic characterisation of gravitationally lensed stars at high redshifts

¹ Observational Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516 SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
² Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Linneanum, Thunbergsvägen 2, SE-752 38 Uppsala, Sweden
³ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
⁴ Theoretical Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516 SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
⁵ Observational Cosmology Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁶ Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park 20742, USA

Received: 16 April 2024
Accepted: 25 July 2024

Abstract

Deep imaging of galaxy cluster fields have in recent years revealed tens of candidates for gravitationally lensed stars at redshifts z ≈ 1 − 6, and future searches are expected to reveal highly magnified stars from even earlier epochs. Multi-band photometric observations may be used to constrain the redshift, effective temperature T_eff, and dust attenuation along the line of sight to such objects. When combined with an estimate of the likely magnification, these quantities may be converted into a constraint on the stellar luminosity and, for an adopted set of stellar evolutionary tracks, the initial stellar mass. Further characterisation is difficult, however, without spectroscopic observations, which at the typical brightness levels of high-redshift lensed stars becomes extremely challenging for even the largest existing telescopes. Here, we explore what spectral features one can realistically hope to detect in lensed stars with peak brightness in the range 26–28 AB mag, T_eff = 4000 − 50 000 K, and redshifts z = 1 − 10, using spectroscopy with JWST and the forthcoming ELT. We find that a majority of detectable lines appear in the rest-UV range for stars with T_eff ≥ 15 000 K. The strongest detectable spectral lines are the C IV λ1550 Å line and the Si IVλλ1393, 1403 Å-doublet at T_eff = 30 000 K. For lower temperatures, the calcium H- and K-lines at T_eff = 6000 K are among the most readily detectable. In limited wavelength ranges, ELT is expected to provide more sensitive spectroscopic observations, and with higher resolution than JWST. We find that variations in both mass-loss rate and metallicity lead to noticeable effects in the detectability of certain spectral lines with both JWST and ELT.