A multipole-Taylor expansion for the potential of the gravitational lens MG J0414+0534

We employ a multipole-Taylor expansion to investigate how tightly the gravi tational potential of the quadruple-image lens MG J0414 + 0534 is constrain ed by recent VLBI observations. These observations revealed that each of th e four images of the background radio source contains four distinct compone nts, thereby providing more numerous and more precise constraints on the le ns potential than were previously available. We expand the two-dimensional lens potential using multipoles for the angular coordinate and a modified T aylor series for the radial coordinate. After discussing the physical signi ficance of each term, we compute models of MG J0414 + 0534 using only VLBI positions as constraints. The best-fit model has both interior and exterior quadrupole moments, as well as exterior m = 3 and m = 4 multipole moments. The deflector centroid in the models matches the optical galaxy position, and the quadrupoles are aligned with the optical isophotes. The radial dist ribution of mass could not be well constrained. We discuss the implications of these models for the deflector mass distribution and for the predicted time delays between lensed components.