SIMBAD references

We present predictions of the number and properties of strongly lensed submillimetre galaxies, based on an adaption of the physically motivated LENSPOP model covering galaxy-galaxy strong lensing by elliptical galaxies, which successfully predicted optical and near-infrared lenses. For submillimetre-luminous lensed galaxies, the most efficient observational selection identifies sources with high fluxes ($S_{500\, \mu \textrm {m}}>80$ mJy), where lensed sources outnumber bright unlensed sources; several hundred candidates from Herschel surveys have been identified, and confirmed by follow-up observations. We have tested our model against these observations. The model predicts an all-sky number density of 0.09 $\pm$ 0.05 deg$^{-2}$ (in absolute numbers, 3600 $\pm$ 1800) of bright lensed galaxies detectable by this method. Observations show considerable variation in sky density between fields, 0.08-0.31 deg$^{-2}$. Predictions of redshift and magnification distributions are comparable to observations, although the model appears to underpredict lenses at the highest magnifications ($\mu >20$). We predict that the apparent AB magnitudes at visible wavelengths of the foreground lenses will be as faint as 28, whereas observations typically reach $\sim 23$, implying that some apparently unlensed bright submillimetre galaxies may have lensing galaxies below this detection limit. For fainter lensed galaxies, the model predicts over 130 000 systems with flux $S_{500\, \mu \textrm {m}}>10$ mJy across the sky, of which $\sim 3400$ remain be discovered in the Herschel catalogues. We also predict that Euclid should be able to detect some 25 000 lensed submillimetre galaxies that are VIS-band 'dropouts' - detectable in the near-infrared but not at optical wavelengths.