Related papers: Quasar Lensing
Gravitational Lensing is an efficient tool to probe: the mass distribution of collapsed systems: galaxies and clusters; high redshift objects thanks to the gravitational amplification; and the geometry of the Universe. I will review here…
Observational evidence shows that gravitational lensing induces an angular correlation between the distribution of galaxies and much more distant QSOs. We use weak gravitational lensing theory to calculate this angular correlation, updating…
We propose a method for detecting gravitational magnification of distant sources, like quasars, due to absorber systems detected in their spectra. We first motivate the use of metal absorption lines rather than Lyman-alpha lines, then we…
We present a detailed strong lensing analysis of an HST/ACS legacy dataset for the first gravitational lens, Q0957+561. With deep imaging we identify 24 new strongly lensed features, which we use to constrain mass models. We model the…
Gravitational lenses are a unique new constraint on the structure of galaxies. We review the evidence that most lenses are early-type galaxies, the optical properties of the lens galaxies, the evidence against constant M/L models, recent…
We can think of a lensed quasar as taking the Hubble time, shrinking it by \~10^{-11}, and then presenting the result to us as a time delay; the shrinking factor is of the order of fractional sky-area that the lens occupies. This cute fact…
We study in detail gravitational lensing caused by a supermassive fermion star and compare it with lensing by a black hole of the same mass. It is argued that lensing effects, being very distinct, may shed some light on the yet unexplained…
The amplification caused by gravitational light bending by compact objects in a foreground galaxy can affect the apparent number density of background QSOs, as well as their distribution in the fields of galactic halos. In this work we…
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…
We study gravitational lensing of the cosmic neutrino background. This signal is undetectable for the foreseeable future, but there is a rich trove of information available. At least some of the neutrinos from the early universe will be…
Weak gravitational lensing is rapidly becoming one of the principal probes of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. In this brief review we outline how weak lensing helps determine the structure of dark matter halos, measure the…
Gravitational lensing is a powerful concept in the Astrophysics to study black holes. The gravitational field of a massive object like a galaxy or black hole bends and magnifies the light from a distant object behind it. The Schwarzchild…
Cluster gravitational lensing surveys like the Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields survey will detect distant galaxies 10-50 times fainter than any yet discovered. Using these surveys to measure the luminosity function of such faint,…
We study the strong gravitational lensing on the equatorial plane of a quasi-Kerr compact object with arbitrary quadrupole moments which can be used to model the super-massive central object of the galaxy. We find that, when the quadrupolar…
We study moderate gravitational lensing where a background galaxy is magnified substantially, but not multiply imaged, by an intervening galaxy. We focus on the case where both the lens and source are elliptical galaxies. The signatures of…
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…
Weak gravitational lensing is a unique probe of the dark side of the universe: it provides a direct way to map the distribution of dark matter around galaxies, clusters of galaxies and on cosmological scales. Furthermore, the measurement of…
Gravitational lensing deflects light. A single lens deflector can only shear images, but cannot induce rotations. Multiple lens planes can induce rotations. Such rotations can be observed in quadruply imaged sources, and can be used to…
The gravitational potential responsible for the lensing effect in SBS 1520+530 is studied over length scales from a few arc-seconds to a few arc-minutes. For this purpose, we use sharply deconvolved Hubble Space Telescope images in the…
Only galaxies bright enough and large enough to be unambiguously identified and measured are included in galaxy surveys used to estimate cosmic shear. We demonstrate that because gravitational lensing can scatter galaxies across the…