XIème Ecole de Cosmologie
 
17 - 22 septembre 2012 IESC, Cargèse
Lentilles gravitationnelles
leur impact dans l’étude des galaxie et la cosmologie

Introduction to Gravitational Lensing (Basics and History)
Joachim WAMBSGANSS

Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg (ZAH)

Chapitres

  1. History of Gravitational Lensing
  2. Basics of Gravitational Lensing
  3. Phenomena of Gravitational Lensing
  4. Gravitational Lensing as a tool to explore the Universe

Résumé

According to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, a ray of light is attracted by a clump of matter. As a consequence, a light ray changes its direction from a straight line by a very small amount when it passes close to a cosmic object. This effect is called "gravitational lensing" and has four consequences:
  • Change of position
  • (De-)Magnification
  • Change of image shape
  • Occasionally multiple images
To date, a number of different lensing phenomena are known, e.g. multiple quasars, giant luminous arcs, microlensing (of stars and quasars), weak lensing, and cosmic shear. In this introductory talk the history of gravitational lensing is highlighted, and the basic concepts and phenomena are introduced.

Bibliographie

    • Gravitational Lensing in Astronomy
      Wambsganss, Joachim, Living Reviews in Relativity 1 (1998), 12, URL: relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/lrr-1998-12

Programme