Emilio E Falco 2005 New J. Phys. 7 200 doi:10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/200
A most useful manifestation of relativity: gravitational lenses
Focus on Spacetime 100 Years LaterEmilio E Falco
Show affiliationsPart of Focus on Spacetime 100 Years Later
Gravitational lenses are scarce but extraordinary phenomena that yield a very high rate of return on observational investment. Given their scarcity, it is very impressive that since their discovery in the extragalactic realm in 1979, they have had such an enormous impact on our knowledge of the universe. Gravitational lensing is a manifestation of general relativity that has contributed to a great variety of astrophysical and cosmological studies. In the weak-field limit, lensing studies are based on well-established physics and thus offer a direct approach to study many of the currently pressing problems of astrophysics. Examples of these are the significance of dark matter and the age and size of the universe. I present a brief history of gravitational lensing and describe recent developments in fields such as searches for dark matter and studies of galaxy evolution and cosmology. The approach is non-specialized and emphasizes observational results, to reach the widest possible audience.
- PACS
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95.30.Sf Relativity and gravitation
98.62.Sb Gravitational lenses and luminous arcs
95.35.+d Dark matter (stellar, interstellar, galactic, and cosmological)
- Subjects
- Dates
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Issue 1 (September 2005)
Received 2 September 2004
Published 29 September 2005
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A most useful manifestation of relativity: gravitational lenses
Emilio E Falco 2005 New J. Phys. 7 200
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