Microlensed image centroid motions by an exotic lens object with negative convergence or negative mass

Gravitational lens models with negative convergence inspired by modified gravity theories, exotic matter and energy have been recently examined, in such a way that a static and spherically symmetric modified spacetime metric depends on the inverse distance to the $n$-th power ($n=1$ for Schwarzschild metric, $n=2$ for Ellis wormhole, and $n eq 1$ for an extended spherical distribution of matter such as an isothermal sphere) in the weak-field approximation [Kitamura, Nakajima and Asada, PRD 87, 027501 (2013), Izumi et al. PRD 88 024049 (2013)]. Some of the models act as if a convex lens, whereas the others are repulsive on light rays like a concave lens. The present paper considers microlensed image centroid motions by the exotic lens models. Numerical calculations show that, for large $n$ cases in the convex-type models, the centroid shift from the source position might move on a multiply-connected curve like a bow tie, while it is known to move on an ellipse for $n=1$ case and to move on an oval curve for $n=2$. The distinctive feature of the microlensed image centroid may be used for searching (or constraining) localized exotic matter or energy with astrometric observations. It is shown also that the centroid shift trajectory for concave-type repulsive models might be elongated vertically to the source motion direction like a prolate spheroid, whereas that for convex-type models such as the Schwarzschild one is tangentially elongated like an oblate spheroid.

Demagnifying gravitational lenses toward hunting a clue of exotic matter and energy

We examine a gravitational lens model inspired by modified gravity theories and exotic matter and energy. We study an asymptotically flat, static, and spherically symmetric spacetime that is modified in such a way that the spacetime metric depends on the inverse distance to the power of positive $n$ in the weak-field approximation. It is shown analytically and numerically that there is a lower limit on the source angular displacement from the lens object to get demagnification. Demagnifying gravitational lenses could appear, provided the source position $beta$ and the power $n$ satisfy $beta > 2/(n+1)$ in the units of the Einstein ring radius under a large-$n$ approximation. Unusually, the total amplification of the lensed images, though they are caused by the gravitational pull, could be less than unity. Therefore, time-symmetric demagnification parts in numerical light curves by gravitational microlensing (F.Abe, Astrophys. J. 725, 787, 2010) may be evidence of an Ellis wormhole (being an example of traversable wormholes), but they do not always prove it. Such a gravitational demagnification of the light might be used for hunting a clue of exotic matter and energy that are described by an equation of state more general than the Ellis wormhole case. Numerical calculations for the $n=3$ and 10 cases show maximally $sim 10$ and $sim 60$ percent depletion of the light, when the source position is $beta sim 1.1$ and $beta sim 0.7$, respectively.