Feature seen when light is gravitationally lensed by an object
Einstein ring, created by a nearer galaxy (NGC 6505) distorting light of a distant galaxy. Four images of the distant galaxy, corresponding to four bright spots, can be seen in this picture.
AnEinstein ring, also known as anEinstein–Chwolson ring orChwolson ring (named forOrest Chwolson), is created when light from agalaxy orstar passes by a massive object en route to the Earth. Due togravitational lensing, the light is diverted, making it seem to come from different places. If source, lens, and observer are all in perfect alignment (syzygy), the light appears as a ring.
Gravitational lensing is predicted byAlbert Einstein's theory ofgeneral relativity.[1] Instead of light from a source traveling in a straight line (in three dimensions), it is bent by the presence of a massive body, which distortsspacetime. An Einstein Ring is a special case of gravitational lensing, caused by the exact alignment of the source, lens, and observer. This results in symmetry around the lens, causing a ring-like structure.[2]
The geometry of a complete Einstein ring, as caused by agravitational lens
The bending of light by a gravitational body was predicted byAlbert Einstein in 1912, a few years before the publication ofgeneral relativity in 1916 (Renn et al. 1997). The ring effect was first mentioned in the academic literature byOrest Khvolson in a short article in 1924, in which he mentioned the “halo effect” of gravitation when the source, lens, and observer are in near-perfect alignment.[4] Einstein remarked upon this effect in 1936 in a paper prompted by a letter by a Czech engineer, R W Mandl,[5] but stated
Of course, there is no hope of observing this phenomenon directly. First, we shall scarcely ever approach closely enough to such a central line. Second, the angle β will defy the resolving power of our instruments.
— Science vol 84, p. 506. 1936
(In this statement, β is the Einstein Angle currently denoted by as in the expression above.) However, Einstein was only considering the chance of observing Einstein rings produced by stars, which is low – the chance of observing those produced by larger lenses such as galaxies or black holes is higher since the angular size of an Einstein ring increases with the mass of the lens.
There have apparently not been any observations of a star forming an Einstein ring with another star, but there is a 45% chance of this happening in early May, 2028 whenAlpha Centauri A passes between us and a distant red star.[7]
"Smiley" or "Cheshire Cat" image ofgalaxy cluster (SDSS J1038+4849) andgravitational lensing (an "Einstein ring") discovered by an international team of scientists,[8] imaged withHST[9]
Hundreds of gravitational lenses are currently known. About half a dozen of them are partial Einstein rings with diameters up to anarcsecond, although as either the mass distribution of the lenses is not perfectlyaxially symmetrical, or the source, lens, and observer are not perfectly aligned, we have yet to see a perfect Einstein ring. Most rings have been discovered in the radio range. The degree of completeness needed for an image seen through a gravitational lens to qualify as an Einstein ring is yet to be defined.
The first Einstein ring was discovered by Hewitt et al. (1988), who observed the radio sourceMG1131+0456 using theVery Large Array. This observation saw aquasar lensed by a nearer galaxy into two separate but very similar images of the same object, the images stretched round the lens into an almost complete ring.[10] These dual images are another possible effect of the source, lens, and observer not being perfectly aligned.
JWST false-color image ofSPT0418-47, a high-redshift galaxy rich in organic molecules, which appears as a nearly-perfect Einstein ring
The first complete Einstein ring to be discovered wasB1938+666, which was found by King et al. (1998) via optical follow-up with the Hubble Space Telescope of a gravitational lens imaged withMERLIN.[6][11] The galaxy causing the lens at B1938+666 is an ancientelliptical galaxy, and the image we see through the lens is a darkdwarfsatellite galaxy, which we would otherwise not be able to see with current technology.[12]
In 2005, the combined power of theSloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with the Hubble Space Telescope was used in the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey to find 19 new gravitational lenses, 8 of which showed Einstein rings,[13] these are the 8 shown in the adjacent image. As of 2009, this survey has found 85 confirmed gravitational lenses but there is not yet a number for how many show Einstein rings.[14] This survey is responsible for most of the recent discoveries of Einstein rings in the optical range, following are some examples which were found:
The "Cosmic Horseshoe" is a partial Einstein ring which was observed through the gravitational lens of LRG 3-757, a distinctively large Luminous Red Galaxy. It was discovered in 2007 by V. Belokurov et al.[16]
SDSSJ0946+1006, the "double Einstein ring" was discovered by Raphael Gavazzi and Tommaso Treu[17] in 2008, notable for the presence of multiple rings observed through the same gravitational lens, the significance of which is explained in the next section onextra rings.
Another example is the radio/X-Ray Einstein ring aroundPKS 1830-211, which is unusually strong in radio.[18] It was discovered in X-Ray by Varsha Gupta et al. at the Chandra X-Ray observatory[19] It is also notable for being the first case of a quasar being lensed by an almost face-onspiral galaxy.[20]
Galaxy MG1654+1346 features a radio ring. The image in the ring is that of a quasarradio lobe, discovered in 1989 by G.Langston et al.[21]
In June 2023, a team of astronomers led by Justin Spilker announced their discovery of an Einstein ring of distant galaxy rich in organic molecules (aromatic hydrocarbons).[22][23]
In September 2023, a scientist named Bruno Altieri saw a hint of an Einstein ring in the data coming back from the Euclid space telescope.[24] The ring is located in a galaxy, NGC 6505, that is not too far from Earth–about 600-million light years away.[25]
In February 2025, theEuclid space telescope captured a nearly perfect Einstein ring around galaxyNGC 6505, about 590 million light-years away. This gravitational lensing effect bent light from a background galaxy 4.42 billion light-years away.[26]
SDSSJ0946+1006 is a Double Einstein Ring. Credit:HST/NASA/ESA
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, a double ring has been found by Raphael Gavazzi of theSTScI and Tommaso Treu of theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara. This arises from the light from three galaxies at distances of 3, 6, and 11 billion light years. Such rings help in understanding the distribution ofdark matter,dark energy, the nature of distant galaxies, and thecurvature of the universe. The odds of finding such a double ring around a massive galaxy are 1 in 10,000. Sampling 50 suitable double rings would provide astronomers with a more accurate measurement of the dark matter content of the universe and the equation of state of the dark energy to within 10 percent precision.[27]
Below in the Gallery section is a simulation depicting a zoom on aSchwarzschild black hole in the plane of theMilky Way between us and the centre of the galaxy. The first Einstein ring is the most distorted region of the picture and shows thegalactic disc. The zoom then reveals a series of 4 extra rings, increasingly thinner and closer to the black hole shadow. They are multiple images of the galactic disk. The first and third correspond to points which are behind the black hole (from the observer's position) and correspond here to the bright yellow region of the galactic disc (close to the galactic center), whereas the second and fourth correspond to images of objects which are behind the observer, which appear bluer, since the corresponding part of the galactic disc is thinner and hence dimmer here.
^Langston, G. I.; et al. (May 1989). "MG 1654+1346 – an Einstein Ring image of a quasar radio lobe".Astronomical Journal.97:1283–1290.Bibcode:1989AJ.....97.1283L.doi:10.1086/115071.
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![The Carousel Lens shows 7 individual galaxies lensed by one core. Additional lenses are seen further out.[28]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aThe_Carousel_Lens.jpg)
