Related papers: The Frontier Fields Lens Modeling Comparison Proje…
We have previously reported the discovery of strong gravitational lensing by faint elliptical galaxies using the WFPC2 on HST and here we investigate their potential usefulness in putting constraints on lens mass models. We compare various…
The Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) are six clusters of galaxies, all showing indications of recent mergers, which have recently been observed for lensed images. As such they are the natural laboratories to study the merging history of galaxy…
Gravitational lensing has now become a popular tool to measure the mass distribution of structures in the Universe on various scales. Here we focus on the study of galaxy's scale dark matter halos with galaxy-galaxy lensing techniques:…
From the nature of dark matter to the rate of expansion of our Universe, observations of distant galaxies distorted through strong gravitational lensing have the potential to answer some of the major open questions in astrophysics. Modeling…
Cluster lensing has become an important tool in the search for high redshift galaxies through its ability to magnify sources. In order to determine the intrinsic properties of these galaxies, lensing mass models must be constructed to…
Lensing by galaxy clusters is a versatile probe of cosmology and extragalactic astrophysics, but the accuracy of some of its predictions is limited by the simplified models adopted to reduce the (otherwise untractable) number of degrees of…
Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) imaging of the most powerful lensing clusters provides access to the most magnified distant galaxies. The challenge is to construct lens models capable of describing these complex massive, merging clusters so…
All lens modeling methods, simply-parametrized, hybrid, and free-form, use assumptions to reconstruct galaxy clusters with multiply imaged sources, though the nature of these assumptions (priors) can differ considerably between methods.…
Galaxy clusters are powerful probes of astrophysics and cosmology through gravitational lensing: the clusters' mass, dominated by 85% dark matter, distorts background light. Yet, mass reconstruction lacks the scalability and large-scale…
The study of strong-lensing systems conventionally involves constructing a mass distribution that can reproduce the observed multiply-imaging properties. Such mass reconstructions are generically non-unique. Here, we present an alternative…
In a recent paper we have discussed the higher order singularities in gravitational lensing. We have shown that a singularity map, comprising of $A_3$-lines and unstable (point) singularities ($A_4$ and $D_4$), is a compact representation…
Lens magnification by galaxy clusters induces characteristic spatial variations in the number counts of background sources, amplifying their observed fluxes and expanding the area of sky, the net effect of which, known as magnification…
We present new strong-lensing (SL) mass reconstruction of the six Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) clusters with the MAximum-entropy ReconStruction (${\tt MARS}$) algorithm. ${\tt MARS}$ is a new free-form inversion method, which suppresses…
The gravitational lensing of faint background galaxies by rich clusters is emerging as a very efficient method to constrain both the mass distribution of cluster of galaxies and probe the statistical properties of faint background galaxies.…
Clusters of galaxies are the most recently assembled, massive, bound structures in the Universe. As predicted by General Relativity, given their masses, clusters strongly deform space-time in their vicinity. Clusters act as some of the most…
We present a new method for directly determining accurate, self-consistent cluster lens mass and shear maps in the strong lensing regime from the magnification bias of background galaxies. The method relies upon pixellisation of the surface…
Clusters of galaxies as gravitational lenses allow to study the stellar content and properties of high-z galaxies much fainter than the usual spectroscopic field surveys. We review the recent results obtained on the identification and study…
We present a new strong lensing (SL) model of the Hubble Frontier Fields galaxy cluster Abell 2744, at z=0.3072, by exploiting archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-band imaging and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) follow-up…
Exploiting the powerful tool of strong gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters to study the highest-redshift Universe and cluster mass distributions relies on precise lens mass modelling. In this work, we present the first attempt at…
Modeling the mass distribution of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses is a task of increasing difficulty. The high-resolution and depth of imaging data now available render simple analytical forms ineffective at capturing lens…