SARCS strong-lensing galaxy groups

Abstract

Aims. Various studies have shown a lensing bias in the mass-concentration relation of cluster-scale structures that is the result of an alignment of the major axis and the line of sight. In this paper, we aim to study this lensing bias through the mass-concentration relation of galaxy groups, thus extending observational constraints to dark matter haloes of mass 10 13 -10 14 M . Methods. Our work is based on the stacked weak-lensing analysis of a sample of 80 strong-lensing galaxy groups. By combining several lenses, we significantly increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the lensing signal, thus providing constraints on the mass profile that cannot be obtained for individual objects. The resulting shear profiles were fitted with various mass models, among them the Navarro-Frank-White (NFW) profile, which provides an estimate of the total mass and of the concentration of the composite galaxy groups.