Related papers: On simple analytic models of microlensing amplific…
During microlensing events with a small impact parameter, the amplification of the source flux is sensitive to the surface brightness distribution of the source star. Such events provide a means for studying the surface structure of target…
Lensing in the context of rich clusters is normally quantified from small image distortions, yielding a relative mass distribution in the limit of weak lensing. Here we show the magnification effect of lensing can also be mapped over a…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool for studying the distribution of mass in the Universe. Understanding the magnification bias effect in gravitational lensing and its impact on the flux of sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) is crucial for…
We propose a novel technique to refine the modelling of galaxy clusters mass distribution using gravitational lensing. The idea is to combine the strengths of both "parametric" and "non-parametric" methods to improve the quality of the fit.…
It has been shown by Paczy\'nski that gravitational microlensing is potentially a useful method for detecting the dark constituents of the halo of our galaxy, if their mass lies in the approximate domain $10^{-6} < M/M_{\odot} < 10^{-1}$.…
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 the coming years, strong gravitational lens discoveries are expected to increase in frequency by two orders of magnitude. Lens-modelling techniques are being developed to prepare for the coming massive influx of new lens data, and blind…
Gravitational microlensing is a new technique for studying the surfaces of distant stars. A point mass lens, usually a low-mass star from the disk, will typically resolve the surface of a red giant in the Galactic bulge, as well as amplify…
We present a strong lensing modeling technique based on versatile basis sets for the lens and source planes. Our method uses high performance Monte Carlo algorithms, allows for an adaptive build up of complexity and bridges the gap between…
In this article we review the astrophysical application of gravitational microlensing. After introducing the history of gravitational lensing, we present the key equations and concept of microlensing. The most frequent microlensing events…
We discuss strong gravitational lensing by multiple objects along any line of sight. The probability for strong gravitational lensing by more than one lens is small, but a number of strong lens systems in which more than one separate lens…
By directly probing mass distributions, gravitational lensing offers several new tests of the CDM paradigm. Lens statistics place upper limits on the dark matter content of elliptical galaxies. Galaxies built from CDM mass distributions are…
This paper reviews statistical methods recently developed to reconstruct and analyze dark matter mass maps from weak lensing observations. The field of weak lensing is motivated by the observations made in the last decades showing that the…
Gravitational lensing of distant objects caused by gravitational tidal forces from inhomogeneities in the universe is weak in most cases, but it is noticed that it gives a great deal of information about the universe, especially regarding…
We propose that some of the high-latitude unidentified EGRET gamma-ray sources could be the result of gravitational lensing amplification of the innermost regions of distant, faint, active galactic nuclei. These objects have gamma-ray…
In this brief communication a new method is outlined for modelling magnification patterns on an observer's plane using a first order approximation to the null geodesic path equations for a point mass lens. For each ray emitted from a…
The magnifications of compact-source lenses are extremely sensitive to the presence of low mass dark matter halos along the entire sight line from the source to the observer. Traditionally, the study of dark matter structure in…
In the last decade the detection of individual massive dark matter sub-halos has been possible using potential correction formalism in strong gravitational lens imaging. Here we propose a statistical formalism to relate strong gravitational…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool to detect compact matter on very different mass scales. Of particular importance is the fact that lensing is sensitive to both luminous and dark matter alike. Depending on the mass scale, all lensing…
Gravitational lensing is the deflection of light rays due to the gravity of intervening masses. This phenomenon is observed in a variety of scales and configurations, involving any non-uniform mass such as planets, stars, galaxies, clusters…