Related papers: Gravitational lensing by cosmic strings: what we l…
We present a new tool for relating theory and experiment suited for non-Gaussian theories: non-Gaussian spectra. It does for non-Gaussian theories what the angular power spectrum $C_\ell$ does for Gaussian theories. We then show how…
Cosmic string cusps are sources of short-lived, linearly polarised gravitational wave bursts which can be searched for in gravitational wave detectors. We assess the capability of LISA to detect these bursts using the latest LISA…
Measurements of the properties of gravitational lenses have the power to tell us what sort of universe we live in. The brightest known radio Einstein ring/gravitational lens PKS 1830-211 (Jauncey et al., 1991), whilst obscured by our Galaxy…
We present the first catalog of 67 strong galaxy-galaxy lens candidates discovered in the 1.64 square degree Hubble Space Telescope COSMOS survey. Twenty of these systems display multiple images or strongly curved large arcs. Our initial…
This is a short and biased review of gravitational lensing with emphasis on the radio and especially VLBI aspects. We briefly explain the basic idea and give a short sketch of the discovery of the first lens, before we more systematically…
We consider a local cosmic string described by the Abelian-Higgs model in the framework of scalar-tensor gravities. We find the metric of the cosmic string in the weak-field approximation. The propagation of particles and light is analysed…
The past decades have witnessed a lot of progress in gravitational lensing with two main targets: stars and galaxies (with active galactic nuclei). The success is partially attributed to the continuous luminescence of these sources making…
Cosmic superstrings are expected to be formed at the end of brane inflation, within the context of brane-world cosmological models inspired from string theory. By studying properties of cosmic suprestring networks, and comparing their…
Cosmic strings can arise in hidden sector models with a spontaneously broken Abelian symmetry group. We have studied the couplings of the Standard Model fields to these so-called dark strings in the companion paper. Here we survey the…
Some aspects of gravitational lensing by large scale structure (LSS) are investigated. We show that lensing causes the damping tail of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum to fall less rapidly with decreasing angular scale…
Strong gravitational lenses provide unique laboratories for cosmological and astrophysical investigations, but they must first be discovered - a task that can be met with significant contamination by other astrophysical objects and…
LISA might detect gravitational waves from mergers of massive black hole binaries strongly lensed by intervening galaxies (Sereno et al. 2010). The detection of multiple gravitational lensing events would provide a new tool for cosmography.…
Gravitational lensing offers unique insights into cosmology by bending light around massive objects. Strong gravitational lensing, in particular, produces magnified and often multiple images of distant sources, crucial for precise…
The last decade has shown a considerable development of gravitational lensing for cosmology because it probes the amount and the nature of dark matter, and provides information on the density parameter $\Omega$, the cosmological constant…
One of the most interesting predictions of string-inspired cosmological models is the presence of a stochastic background of relic gravitational waves in the frequency band accessible to Earth-based detectors. Here we consider a ``minimal''…
A spectrum of relic stochastic gravitational radiation, strongly tilted towards high frequencies, and characterized by two basic parameters is shown to emerge in a class of string theory models. We estimate the required sensitivity for…
Like light, gravitational waves can be gravitationally lensed by massive astrophysical objects. Strong gravitational lensing by galaxies and galaxy clusters is anticipated to become observable in the coming years. This phenomenon will…
Gravitational lensing has empowered telescopes to discover astronomical objects that are otherwise out of reach without being highly magnified by foreground structures. While we expect gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary…
Gravitational-wave searches for cosmic strings are currently hindered by the presence of detector glitches, some classes of which strongly resemble cosmic string signals. This confusion greatly reduces the efficiency of searches. A…
Vector perturbations sourced by topological defects can generate rotations in the lensing of background galaxies. This is a potential smoking gun for the existence of defects since rotation generates a curl-like component in the weak…