Combining Strong and Weak Gravitational Lensing in Abell 1689

We present a reconstruction of the mass distribution of galaxy cluster Abell 1689 at z = 0.18 using detected strong lensing features from deep ACS observations and extensive ground based spectroscopy. Earlier analyses have reported up to 32 multiply imaged systems in this cluster, of which only 3 were spectroscopically confirmed. In this work, we present a parametric strong lensing mass reconstruction using 34 multiply imaged systems of which 24 have newly determined spectroscopic redshifts, which is a major step forward in building a robust mass model. In turn, the new spectroscopic data allows a more secure identification of multiply imaged systems. The resultant mass model enables us to reliably predict the redshifts of additional multiply imaged systems for which no spectra are currently available, and to use the location of these systems to further constrain the mass model. Using our strong lensing mass model, we predict on larger scale a shear signal which is consistent with that inferred from our large scale weak lensing analysis derived using CFH12K wide field images. Thanks to a new method for reliably selecting a well defined background lensed galaxy population, we resolve the discrepancy found between the NFW concentration parameters derived from earlier strong and weak lensing analysis. The derived parameters for the best fit NFW profile is found to be c200 = 7.6 ± 1.6 and r200 = 2.16 ± 0.10 h Mpc (corresponding to a 3D mass equal to M200 = [1.32 ± 0.2] × 1015 h70 M☉). The large number of new constraints incorporated in this work makes Abell 1689 the most reliably reconstructed cluster to date. This well calibrated mass model, which we here make publicly available, will enable us to exploit Abell 1689 efficiently as a gravitational telescope, as well as to potentially constrain cosmology.