No Arabic abstract
We study the image formation near point singularities (swallowtail and umbilics) in the simulated strongly lensed images of Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) by the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) clusters. In this work, we only consider nearly half of the brightest (a total of 5271) sources in the HUDF region. For every HFF cluster, we constructed 11 realizations of strongly lensed HUDF with an arbitrary translation of the cluster centre within the central region of HUDF and an arbitrary rotation. In each of these realizations, we visually identify the characteristic/exotic image formation corresponding to the different point singularities. We find that our current results are consistent with our earlier results based on different approaches. We also study time delay in these exotic image formations and compare it with typical five-image geometries. We find that the typical time delay in exotic image formations is an order of magnitude smaller than the typical time delay in a generic five-image geometry.
Due to the finite amount of observational data, the best-fit parameters corresponding to the reconstructed cluster mass have uncertainties. In turn, these uncertainties affect the inferences made from these mass models. Following our earlier work, we have studied the effect of such uncertainties on the singularity maps in simulated and actual galaxy clusters. The mass models for both simulated and real clusters have been constructed using grale. The final best-fit mass models created using grale give the simplest singularity maps and a lower limit on the number of point singularities that a lens has to offer. The simple nature of these singularity maps also puts a lower limit on the number of three image (tangential and radial) arcs that a cluster lens has. Hence, we estimate the number of galaxy sources giving rise to the three image arcs, which can be observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We find that we expect to observe at least 20-30 tangential and 5-10 radial three-image arcs in the Hubble Frontier Fields cluster lenses with the JWST.
Discovery of strongly-lensed gravitational wave (GW) sources will unveil binary compact objects at higher redshifts and lower intrinsic luminosities than is possible without lensing. Such systems will yield unprecedented constraints on the mass distribution in galaxy clusters, measurements of the polarization of GWs, tests of General Relativity, and constraints on the Hubble parameter. Excited by these prospects, and intrigued by the presence of so-called heavy black holes in the early detections by LIGO-Virgo, we commenced a search for strongly-lensed GWs and possible electromagnetic counterparts in the latter stages of the second LIGO observing run (O2). Here, we summarise our calculation of the detection rate of strongly-lensed GWs, describe our review of BBH detections from O1, outline our observing strategy in O2, summarize our follow-up observations of GW170814, and discuss the future prospects of detection.
This paper reviews a phenomenological approach to the gravitational lensing by exotic objects such as the Ellis wormhole lens, where exotic lens objects may follow a non-standard form of the equation of state or may obey a modified gravity theory. A gravitational lens model is proposed in the inverse powers of the distance, such that the Schwarzschild lens and exotic lenses can be described in a unified manner as a one parameter family. As observational implications, the magnification, shear, photo-centroid motion and time delay in this lens model are discussed.
Recently, some divergent conclusions about cosmic acceleration were obtained using type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), with opposite assumptions on the intrinsic luminosity evolution. In this paper, we use strong gravitational lensing systems to probe the cosmic acceleration. Since the theory of strong gravitational lensing is established certainly, and the Einstein radius is determined by stable cosmic geometry. We study two cosmological models, $Lambda$CDM and power-law models, through 152 strong gravitational lensing systems, incorporating with 30 Hubble parameters $H(z)$ and 11 baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements. Bayesian evidence are introduced to make a one-on-one comparison between cosmological models. Basing on Bayes factors $ln B$ of flat $Lambda$CDM versus power-law and $R_{h}=ct$ models are $ln B>5$, we find that the flat $Lambda$CDM is strongly supported by the combination of the datasets. Namely, an accelerating cosmology with non power-law expansion is preferred by our numeration.
When light from a distant source object, like a galaxy or a supernova, travels towards us, it is deflected by massive objects that lie on its path. When the mass density of the deflecting object exceeds a certain threshold, multiple, highly distorted images of the source are observed. This strong gravitational lensing effect has so far been treated as a model-fitting problem. Using the observed multiple images as constraints yields a self-consistent model of the deflecting mass density and the source object. As several models meet the constraints equally well, we develop a lens characterisation that separates data-based information from model assumptions. The observed multiple images allow us to determine local properties of the deflecting mass distribution on any mass scale from one simple set of equations. Their solution is unique and free of model-dependent degeneracies. The reconstruction of source objects can be performed completely model-independently, enabling us to study galaxy evolution without a lens-model bias. Our approach reduces the lens and source description to its data-based evidence that all models agree upon, simplifies an automated treatment of large datasets, and allows for an extrapolation to a global description resembling model-based descriptions.