What is gravitational lensing how is it used in physics and scientific research?

What is gravitational lensing how is it used in physics and scientific research?

Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool that directly probes all clustering components in the universe through their gravitational effect on light from background sources. The most prominent application in cosmology is weak lensing, the statistical detection of lensing in the CMB and the shapes of background galaxies.

What are the three essential components in gravitational lensing?

The basic setup for a gravitational lens scenario is displayed in Figure (1). The three ingredients in such a lensing situation are the source S, the lens L and the observer O. In this scenario light rays emitted by the source are deflected by the lens which will produce two images, S1 and S2.

What is the gravitational lensing method?

The gravitational microlensing method allows planets to be found using light from a distant star. The path of the light from this star will be altered by the presence of a massive lens – in our case, a star and a planet. Thus, for a short period of time, the distant star will appear brighter.

What causes gravitational lensing?

What Is Gravitational Lensing? A gravitational lens can occur when a huge amount of matter, like a cluster of galaxies, creates a gravitational field that distorts and magnifies the light from distant galaxies that are behind it but in the same line of sight. The effect is like looking through a giant magnifying glass.

Who first discovered gravitational lensing?

This gravitational lens was discovered by Dennis Walsh, Bob Carswell, and Ray Weymann using the Kitt Peak National Observatory 2.1 meter telescope.

What is gravitational lensing theory?

Gravitational Lensing Theory. What is a lens? It’s a piece of glass or other transparent material shaped so that light rays which pass through it are “bent”, or diverted from their original paths: Light rays “bend” when they pass through a transparent material because they travel a bit slower inside the material.

Are there any movies about the effects of gravitational lensing?

The Gravitational Lensing Group at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany has created some Quicktime movies showing the effects of gravitational lensing in different situations: Jim Lovell of the University of Tasmania provides another animation of lensing in action.

What does the Einstein ring radius depend on?

The Einstein ring radius depends on the mass of the lensing object: the more massive it is, the larger the Einstein ring radius. It also depends on the distance between us, the lensing object, and the background source.

What determines the angle theta by which a light ray is deflected?

The angle theta by which the light ray is deflected depends on two factors: its closest approach to the massive object (called the impact parameter, and denoted by b in the diagram), and the mass of the lensing object, M . As you might guess, it takes both a very massive lens, and a very close approach,…