Related papers: A fast method for computing strong-lensing cross s…
We introduce a novel method to measure the masses of galaxy clusters at high redshift selected from optical and IR Spitzer data via the red-sequence technique. Lyman-break galaxies are used as a well understood, high-redshift background…
We present a detailed investigation into which properties of CDM halos make them effective strong gravitational lenses. Strong lensing cross sections of 878 clusters from an N-body simulation are measured by ray tracing through 13,594…
We investigate how observations of strong lensing can be used to infer cosmological parameters, in particular the equation of state of dark energy. We focus on the growth of the critical lines of lensing clusters with the source redshift as…
We present a new method for measuring the projected mass distributions of galaxy clusters. The gravitational amplification is measured by comparing the joint distribution in redshift and magnitude of galaxies behind the cluster with that of…
Strong lensing in galaxy clusters probes properties of dense cores of dark matter halos in mass, studies the distant universe at flux levels and spatial resolutions otherwise unavailable, and constrains cosmological models independently.…
We present an axially symmetric formula to calculate the probability of finding gravitational arcs in galaxy clusters, being induced by their massive dark matter haloes, as a function of clusters redshifts and virial masses. The formula…
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.…
We explore the use of strong lensing by galaxy clusters to constrain the dark energy equation of state and its possible time variation. The cores of massive clusters often contain several multiply imaged systems of background galaxies at…
We use the semi-analytic method developed by Fedeli et al. for computing strong-lensing optical depths to study the statistics of gravitational arcs in four dark-energy cosmologies. Specifically, we focus on models with early dark energy…
We study the impact of merger events on the strong lensing properties of galaxy clusters. Previous lensing simulations were not able to resolve dynamical time scales of cluster lenses, which arise on time scales which are of order a Gyr. In…
Galaxy clusters are hotter and more X-ray luminous than in quiescence while they undergo major mergers, which also transiently increase their strong-lensing efficiency. We use semi-analytic models for both effects to study how cluster…
Strong gravitational lensing provides unique opportunities to investigate the mass distribution at the cores of galaxy clusters and to study high redshift galaxies. Using $94$ strong lensing models of $74$ cluster fields from the…
We propose a method for recovering the two-dimensional gravitational potential of galaxy clusters which combines data from weak and strong gravitational lensing. A first estimate of the potential from weak lensing is improved at the…
The galaxy cluster 1E0657-56 (z = 0.296) is remarkably well-suited for addressing outstanding issues in both galaxy evolution and fundamental physics. We present a reconstruction of the mass distribution from both strong and weak…
We study the efficiency of numerically simulated galaxy clusters for producing strong gravitational lensing events in different dark-energy cosmologies with constant and time-variable equation of state and we compare it with ``standard''…
For more than a decade now, it has been controversial whether or not the high rate of giant gravitational arcs and the largest observed Einstein radii are consistent with the standard cosmological model. Recent studies indicate that mergers…
Clusters of galaxies as gravitational lenses allow to study the stellar content and properties of high-z galaxies much fainter than the usual spectroscopic field surveys. We review the recent results obtained on the identification and study…
We introduce a new method for constraining the redshift distribution of a set of galaxies, using weak gravitational lensing shear. Instead of using observed shears and redshifts to constrain cosmological parameters, we ask how well the…
The magnifications of the images in a strong gravitational lens system are sensitive to small mass clumps in the lens potential; this effect has been used to infer the amount of substructure in galaxy dark matter halos. I study the theory…
The statistics of gravitational arcs in galaxy clusters is a powerful probe of cluster structure and may provide complementary cosmological constraints. Despite recent progresses, discrepancies still remain among modelling and observations…