Related papers: Cosmological parameters from weak cosmological len…
Weak lensing can be observed through a number of effects on the images of distant galaxies; their shapes are sheared, their sizes and fluxes (magnitudes) are magnified and their positions on the sky are modified by the lensing field. Galaxy…
This paper presents the first application of 3D cosmic shear to a wide-field weak lensing survey. 3D cosmic shear is a technique that analyses weak lensing in three dimensions using a spherical harmonic approach, and does not bin data in…
Gravitational lensing by large-scale structure induces weak coherent alignments in the shapes of background galaxies. Here we present evidence for the detection of this `cosmic shear' at the 3.4 sigma significance level with the William…
We review all the cosmic shear results obtained so far, with a critical discussion of the present strengths and weaknesses. We discuss the future prospects and the role cosmic shear could play in a precision cosmology era.
This paper details a description of the pattern of galaxy image distortion over the entire sky caused by the gravitational lensing which is the result of large scale inhomogeneities in our universe. We present a tensor spherical harmonic…
Weak gravitational lensing is one of the most promising cosmological probes of the late universe. Several large ongoing (DES, KiDS, HSC) and planned (LSST, EUCLID, WFIRST) astronomical surveys attempt to collect even deeper and larger scale…
In the past decade, weak gravitational lensing has become an important tool in the study of the universe at the largest scale, giving insights into the distribution of dark matter, the expansion of the universe, and the nature of dark…
We discuss the present status and future prospects for cosmic shear observations and their cosmological constraints. We review the evidences supporting the cosmological origin of the measured signal, and discuss the possible problems coming…
I review the current status of combing weak gravitational lensing with depth information from redshifts as a direct probe of dark matter and dark energy in the Universe. In particular I highlight: (1) The first maximum likelihood…
The field of weak gravitational lensing, which measures the basic properties of the Universe by studying the way that light from distant galaxies is perturbed as it travels towards us, is a very active field in astronomy. This short article…
Strong gravitational lensing of quasars has the potential to unlock the poorly understood physics of these fascinating objects, as well as serve as a probe of the lensing mass distribution and of cosmological parameters. In particular,…
We present a cosmic shear analysis of the 100 square degree weak lensing survey, combining data from the CFHTLS-Wide, RCS, VIRMOS-DESCART and GaBoDS surveys. Spanning ~100 square degrees, with a median source redshift z~0.78, this combined…
Galaxy shapes are not randomly oriented, rather they are statistically aligned in a way that can depend on formation environment, history and galaxy type. Studying the alignment of galaxies can therefore deliver important information about…
Weak gravitational lensing has proven to be a powerful tool to map directly the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. The technique, currently used, relies on the accurate measurement of the gravitational shear that corresponds to…
Weak lensing of galaxies by large scale structure can potentially measure cosmological quantities as accurately as the cosmic microwave background (CMB). However, the relation between observables and fundamental parameters is more complex…
Weak Gravitational Lensing is a powerful probe of the dark sector of the Universe. One of the main challenges for this technique is the treatment of systematics in the measurement of cosmic shear from galaxy shapes. In an earlier work,…
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…
Cosmological weak lensing by the large scale structure of the Universe, cosmic shear, is coming of age as a powerful probe of the parameters describing the cosmological model and matter power spectrum. It complements CMB studies, by…
We propose to use a simple observable, the fractional area of "hot spots" in weak lensing mass maps which are detected with high significance, to determine background cosmological parameters. Because these high-shear regions are directly…
Gravitational lensing can provide pure geometric tests of the structure of space-time, for instance by determining empirically the angular diameter distance-redshift relation. This geometric test has been demonstrated several times using…