Related papers: Dark matter under the microscope: Constraining com…
In modern hierarchical theories of structure formation, rich clusters of galaxies form at the vertices of a weblike distribution of matter, with filaments emanating from them to large distances and with smaller objects forming and draining…
High-resolution N-body simulations of dark matter halos indicate that the Milky Way contains numerous subhalos. When a dark matter subhalo passes in front of a star, the light from that star will be deflected by gravitational lensing,…
Variability in gravitationally lensed quasars can be due to intrinsic fluctuations of the quasar or due to ``microlensing'' by compact objects along the line of sight. If disentangled from each other, microlens-induced variability can be…
If compact baryonic objects contribute significantly to the dark matter in our Galaxy, their mass function will present vital clues for galaxy formation theories and star formation processes in the early Universe. Here we discuss what one…
In the cold dark matter scenario, dark matter halos are assembled hierarchically from smaller subunits. Some of these subunits are disrupted during the merging process, whereas others survive temporarily in the form of subhalos. A…
The current searches for microlensing events towards the galactic bulge can be used to detect planets around the lensing stars. Their effect is a short-term modulation on the smooth lightcurve produced by the main lensing star. Current and…
There are compelling reasons to believe that the dark matter of the universe is constituted, in large part, by non-baryonic collisionless particles with very small primordial velocity dispersion. Such particles are called cold dark matter…
We present the results of a VLT MUSE/FORS2 and Spitzer survey of a unique compact lensing cluster CLIO at z = 0.42, discovered through the GAMA survey using spectroscopic redshifts. Compact and massive clusters such as this are…
In quasars which are lensed by galaxies, the point-like images sometimes show sharp and uncorrelated brightness variations (microlensing). These brightness changes are associated with the innermost region of the quasar passing through a…
There are lines of evidence suggesting that some of the observed microlensing events in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are caused by ordinary star lenses as opposed to dark Machos in the Galactic halo. Efficient lensing…
We present new weak lensing observations of 1E0657-558 (z=0.296), a unique cluster merger, that enable a direct detection of dark matter, independent of assumptions regarding the nature of the gravitational force law. Due to the collision…
A new window to observing individual stars and other small sources at cosmological distances was opened recently, with the detection of several caustic-crossing events in galaxy cluster fields. Many more such events are expected soon from…
Looking for and studying very distant galaxy clusters, clusters at z>1, are one of the prime subjects of the modern observational cosmology. If the metallicity of the hot intra-cluster medium in very distant galaxy clusters is measured for…
There is now abundant evidence for the presence of large quantities of unseen matter surrounding normal galaxies, including our own$^{1,2}$. The nature of this `dark matter' is unknown, except that it cannot be made of normal stars, dust,…
Many high velocity HI clouds (HVCs) are now believed to be scattered throughout the Galactic halo on scales of tens of kiloparsecs. Some of these clouds appear to contain substantial HI masses (>10^6 Msun). It has been suggested that these…
A generic prediction of particle dark matter theories is that a large population of dark matter substructures should reside inside the host haloes of galaxies. In gravitational imaging, strong gravitational lens observations are used to…
Paczy\'nski (1986) suggested that ``dark" objects in the halo of our Galaxy could enhance the luminosity of foreground stars, acting as gravitational microlenses. Such events has been recently reported by different collaborations. We assume…
The current weak lensing measurements of the large scale structure are mostly related to statistical study of background galaxy ellipticities. We consider a possibility to extend lensing studies with intrinsically unresolved sources and…
A long-standing problem of strong lensing by galaxy clusters regards the observed high rate of giant gravitational arcs as compared to the predictions in the framework of the "standard" cosmological model. Recently, few other…
We present a parametric strong lensing analysis of three massive clusters. Our aim is to probe the inner shape of dark matter haloes, in particular the existence of a core. We adopt the following working hypothesis: any group/cluster scale…