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Cosmic gravitational diagnostics

  • I. Gravitational Optics
  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Gravitational Lensing

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Physics ((LNP,volume 360))

Abstract

I review theoretical problems posed by recent observations. Many of the results and questions presented are new, to my knowledge.

Is there too much QSO-galaxy association to be explained by gravitational lensing ? We can reexamine observations and theories (minding, however, Roger Blandford's warning to ponder the fate of Albigensians). In particular, we may wonder how much the background QSO counts are affected by lensing. Microlensing on Δθ ≲ 10−3 ″ scales, or marginal lenses on larger scales might conceivably affect the brightest QSO counts.

A population of marginal lenses with tips of caustics at z tip ≳ 3 would magnify QSOs at z s ≈ 1 – 2 by 2–3 magnitudes, making no multiple images. However, the clumpiness of the universe produced by (at least) the known populations of galaxies would perturb the marginal lenses, bring some caustics to z tip < 2, and cause some fraction of magnified QSOs to be triple images of comparable fluxes. Thus, a theory involving marginal lenses must account for the absence of marginal triplets discovered yet.

We must also mind the clumpiness when we try to determine the Hubble constant. Cosmological populations of compact objects can be strongly constrained from the clumpiness they would introduce. The cell approximation, based on an analog of the optical theorem (flux conservation) can simplify the treatment of practical questions.

There is a topological similarity between optical effects which produce marginal lenses and the effects which produce giant arcs in clusters of galaxies (dense lenses): In both cases, sources are situated near cusps of the caustics of our past light cone. In particular, a marginal lens perturbed by a smaller scale dense lens (e.g. cluster by a galaxy) is similar to the lens responsible for the Koo's arc, broken in three by a clump of galaxies.

Arcs, rings, and the background made up by Tyson's galaxies belong to the most interesting tools of cosmic diagnostics to date. Besides probing galaxies and clusters, they can also probe the puzzling “dark” lens double QSO candidates. The microwave background anisotropies, when discovered, can join the club and probe the cosmography at high redshifts.

Incumbent of the Charles H. Revson Foundation Career Developement Chair

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK

    Israel Kovner

  2. Physics Department, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel

    Israel Kovner

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  1. Israel Kovner
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Yannick Mellier Bernard Fort Geneviève Soucail

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag

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Kovner, I. (1990). Cosmic gravitational diagnostics. In: Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Soucail, G. (eds) Gravitational Lensing. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 360. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0009229

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0009229

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-52648-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47087-8

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