Related papers: Dark Galaxies -- the Dominant Population?
We study lens statistics in flat, low-density universes with different equations of state $w=p_Q/\rho_Q$ for the dark energy component. Dark energy modifies the distance-redshift relation and the mass function of dark matter halos leading…
Many distant objects can only be detected, or become more scientifically valuable, if they have been highly magnified by strong gravitational lensing. We use EAGLE and BAHAMAS, two recent cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, to predict…
Lensing flux-ratio anomalies are most likely caused by gravitational lensing by small-scale dark matter structures. These anomalies offer the prospect of testing a fundamental prediction of the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model: the…
The idea that dark matter can be made of intermediate-mass primordial black holes in the $10M_\odot \lesssim M \lesssim 200M_\odot$ range has recently been reconsidered, particularly in the light of the detection of gravitational waves by…
We report the results of our search for disturbed (interacting) objects among very isolated galaxies. The inspections of 1050 northern isolated galaxies from KIG and 500 nearby, very isolated galaxies situated in the Local Supercluster…
Dark matter structures within strong gravitational lens galaxies and along their line of sight leave a gravitational imprint on the multiple images of lensed sources. Strong gravitational lensing provides, therefore, a key test of different…
According to the theory of general relativity, masses deflect light in a way similar to convex glass lenses. This gravitational lensing effect is astigmatic, giving rise to image distortions. These distortions allow to quantify cosmic…
I review the observations of gravitationally lensed quasars. These systems are important because they allow us to probe the properties of the lensing galaxies at various scales, and they also allow insights into the structures of the…
Gravitational lensing is brightening of background objects due to deflection of light by foreground sources. Rich clusters of galaxies are very effective lenses because they are centrally concentrated. Such natural Gravitational Telescopes…
Strong gravitational lensing offers a compelling test of the cold dark matter paradigm, as it allows for subhaloes with masses of $\sim10^{9}$ M$_\odot$ and below to be detected. We test commonly-used techniques for detecting subhaloes…
We investigate the effects of numerous dark matter subhalos in a galaxy-sized halo on the events of strong lensing, to assess their presence as expected from the cold dark matter scenario. Lens galaxies are represented by a smooth ellipsoid…
When gravitational waves pass through the nuclear star clusters of galactic lenses, they may be microlensed by the stars. Such microlensing can cause potentially observable beating patterns on the waveform due to waveform superposition and…
For 18 well-observed gravitationally lensed QSOs, we compare new non-parametric mass profiles for the lensing galaxies with stellar-population models derived from published HST photometry. The large volume of parameter space searched --…
There is controversy about the measurement of statistical associations between bright quasars and faint, presumably foreground galaxies. We look at the distribution of galaxies around an unbiased sample of 63 bright, moderate redshift…
Weak gravitational lensing has become an important tool to study the properties of dark matter halos around galaxies, thanks to the advent of large panoramic cameras on 4m class telescopes. This area of research has been developing rapidly…
Most gravitational lens galaxies are early-type galaxies in relatively low density environments. We show that they lie on the same fundamental plane as early-type galaxies in both local and distant rich clusters. Their surface brightness…
It is accepted that quasars are powered by supermassive black holes (SMBH) with masses in the range 10^6 - 10^9 solar masses in their cores. Occasionally, compact stars can plunge into SMBH. In addition, there may be a number of such…
Gravitational lensing has developed into one of the most powerful tools for the analysis of the dark universe. This review summarises the theory of gravitational lensing, its main current applications and representative results achieved so…
Astronomical objects in our universe that are too faint to be directly detectable exist and are important - an obvious example being dark matter. The same can also apply to very faint baryonic objects, such as low luminosity dwarf galaxies…
This paper reviews the question of whether the wide separation double quasar Q2138-431 is a gravitational lens. From early work, the two quasar images are known to have almost identical spectra and redshifts, but no lensing galaxy has so…