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Register a new userGravitational Lensing and Tests of the Cosmological Constant
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The case for a flat Cold Dark Matter model with a positive cosmological constant $Lambda$ has been recently strongly advocated by some theoreticians. In this paper we give the observers point of view to the light of the most recent observations with a special emphasis on lensing tests. We confirm the apparent cosmic concordance for a flat Universe with $Omega_{Lambda}$ close to 0.6 but we note that a low mass density open universe with no cosmological constant is still quite acceptable for most of the reliable observational tests, including lensing tests as well.
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The standard concordance model of the Universe is based on the cosmological constant as the driver of accelerating expansion. This concordance model is being subjected to a growing range of inter-locking observations. In addition to using generic observational tests, one can also design tests that target the specific properties of the cosmological constant. These null tests do not rely on parametrisations of observables, but focus on quantities that are constant only if dark energy is a cosmological constant. We use supernova data in null tests that are based on the luminosity distance. In order to extract derivatives of the distance in a model-independent way, we use Gaussian Processes. We find that the concordance model is compatible with the Union 2.1 data, but the error bars are fairly large. Simulated datasets are generated for the DES supernova survey and we show that this survey will allow for a sharper null test of the cosmological constant if we assume the Universe is flat. Allowing for spatial curvature degrades the power of the null test.
This course presents some applications of gravitational lensing to the measurement of masses of galaxies (galaxy-galaxy lensing, Eintein rings, perturbations of giant arcs) and cluster of galaxies (strong and weak lensing). This complements the F. Bernardeaus course dedicated to some theoretical aspects and weak lensing by large scale structures. In the first section, I describe the most important lensing quantities and lensing properties useful for astrophycal applications. Then I briefly present some academic exemples. Section three is devoted to exemples of mass reconstruction and the study of mass distribution in clusters of galaxies and galaxies.
We reanalyse optical gravitational lens surveys from the literature in order to determine relative probabilities in the $lambda_{0}$-$Omega_{0}$ plane, using a softened singular isothermal sphere lens model. In addition, we examine a portion of the $lambda_{0}$-$Omega_{0}$ plane which includes all viable cosmological models; this is vital for comparison with other cosmological tests. The results are, within the errors, consistent with those of more specialised analyses, such as those concerning upper limits on $lambda_{0}$ in a flat universe. We note that gravitational lensing statistics can provide a quite robust LOWER limit on the cosmological constant as well, which could prove important in confirming current claims of a positive cosmological constant. At 95% confidence, our lower and upper limits on $lambda_{0}-Omega_{0}$, using lens statistics information alone, are respectively -3.17 and 0.3. For a flat universe, these correspond to lower and upper limits on $lambda_{0}$ of respectively -1.09 and 0.65.
We investigate the feasibility of measuring weak gravitational lensing using 21cm intensity mapping with special emphasis on the performance of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA). We find that the current design for SKA-Mid should be able to measure the evolution of the lensing power spectrum at z~2-3 using this technique. This will be a probe of the expansion history of the universe and gravity at a unique range in redshift. The signal-to-noise is found to be highly dependent on evolution of the neutral hydrogen fraction in the universe with a higher HI density resulting in stronger signal. With realistic models for this, SKA Phase 1 should be capable of measuring the lensing power spectrum and its evolution. The signal-to-noises dependence on the area and diameter of the telescope array is quantified. We further demonstrate the applications of this technique by applying it to two specific coupled dark energy models that would be difficult to observationally distinguish without information from this range of redshift. We also investigate measuring the lensing signal with 21cm emission from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) using SKA-Low and find that it is unlikely to constrain cosmological parameters because of the small survey size, but could provide a map of the dark matter within a small region of the sky.
We consider the effect of a positive cosmological constant on spherical gravitational collapse to a black hole for a few simple, analytic cases. We construct the complete Oppenheimer-Snyder-deSitter (OSdS) spacetime, the generalization of the Oppenheimer-Snyder solution for collapse from rest of a homogeneous dust ball in an exterior vacuum. In OSdS collapse, the cosmological constant may affect the onset of collapse and decelerate the implosion initially, but it plays a diminishing role as the collapse proceeds. We also construct spacetimes in which a collapsing dust ball can bounce, or hover in unstable equilibrium, due to the repulsive force of the cosmological constant. We explore the causal structure of the different spacetimes and identify any cosmological and black hole event horizons which may be present.
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