Predicted properties of multiple images of the strongly lensed supernova SN Refsdal.

Abstract

We construct a mass model of the cluster MACS J1149.6+2223 to study the expected properties of multiple images of SN Refsdal, the first example of a gravitationally lensed supernova with resolved multiple images recently reported by Kelly et al. We find that the best-fitting model predicts six supernova images in total, i.e. two extra images in addition to the observed four Einstein cross supernova images S1-S4. One extra image is predicted to have appeared about 17 years ago, whereas the other extra image is predicted to appear in about one year from the appearance of S1-S4, which is a testable prediction with near-future observations. The predicted magnification factors of individual supernova images range from ∼18 for the brightest image to ∼4 for the faint extra images. Confronting these predictions with future observations should provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve our understanding of cluster mass distributions.