Related papers: Are there sextuplet and octuplet image systems?
We study the problem of gravitational lensing by an isothermal elliptical density galaxy in the presence of a tidal perturbation. When the perturbation is fairly strong and oriented near the galaxy's minor axis, the lens can produce image…
Among known strongly lensed quasar systems, ~25% have gravitational potentials sufficiently flat (and sources sufficiently well aligned) to produce four images rather than two. The projected flattening of the lensing galaxy and tides from…
An arbitrary surface mass density of gravitational lens can be decomposed into multipole components. We simulate the ray-tracing for the multipolar mass distribution of generalized SIS (Singular Isothermal Sphere) model, based on the…
This work introduces a new fitting formalism for isophotes which enables more accurate modelling of galaxies with non-elliptical shapes, such as disk galaxies viewed edge-on or galaxies with X-shaped/peanut bulges. Within this scheme, the…
Weak gravitational lensing seeks to determine shear by measuring induced quadrupole (elliptical) shapes in background galaxy images. Small impact parameter (a few kpc) gravitational lensing by foreground core masses between 2 10^{9} and 2…
Multiple image gravitational lens systems, and especially quads are invaluable in determining the amount and distribution of mass in galaxies. This is usually done by mass modeling using parametric or free-form methods. An alternative way…
Witt (1996) has shown that for an elliptical potential, the four images of a quadruply lensed quasar lie on a rectangular hyperbola that passes through the unlensed quasar position and the center of the potential as well. Wynne and…
Hot big bang cosmology says nothing about the topology of the Universe. A topology-independent algorithm is presented which is complementary to that of Lehoucq et al. 1996 and which searches for evidence of multi-connectedness using…
We develop a robust method to model quadruply lensed quasars, relying heavily on the work of Witt (1996), who showed that for elliptical potentials, the four image positions, the source, and the lensing galaxy lie on a right hyperbola. For…
We present near-infrared observations of 35 of the most massive early-type galaxies in the local universe. The observations were made using the infrared channel of the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 in the F110W (1.1 $\mu$m)…
Gravitational lensing of point sources located inside the lens caustic is known to produce four images in a configuration closely related to the source position. We study this relation in the particular case of a sample of quadruply-imaged…
We study the problem of gravitational lensing by binary galaxies, idealized as two isothermal spheres. In a wide binary, each galaxy possesses individual tangential, nearly astroidal, caustics and roundish radial caustics. As the separation…
We extend the model-independent approach to characterise strong gravitational lenses of Wagner & Bartelmann (2016) to its most general form to leading order by using the orientation angles of a set of multiple images with respect to their…
We present a new method for the analysis of images, a fundamental task in observational astronomy. It is based on the linear decomposition of each object in the image into a series of localised basis functions of different shapes, which we…
The strange morphology of the six-component gravitational lens PMN J0134-0931 has resisted explanation. We present the first successful quantitative models for the system, based on the idea that there are two lens galaxies and two…
A method is developed to evaluate the magnifications of the images of galaxies with lensing potentials stratified on similar concentric ellipses. A simple contour integral is provided which enables the sums of the magnifications of even…
The quadruple image configurations of gravitational lenses with vanishing ellipticity are examined. Even though such lenses asymptotically approach circularity, the configurations are stable if the position of the source relative to the…
Most galaxies host central supermassive black holes. As two galaxies merge, the black holes also merge. The final single black hole may suffer a kick due to asymmetric gravitational radiation and may not be at the centre of the galaxy;…
The multiple images of lensed quasars provide evidence on the mass distribution of the lensing galaxy. The lensing invariants are constructed from the positions of the images, their parities and their fluxes. They depend only on the…
A growing body of observational evidence suggests that the luminosity, photometric shape and amount of rotational or anisotropical support in elliptical galaxies may provide vital clues to how they formed. Elliptical galaxies appear to fall…