Gravitational Lensing and Applications

Brandon Green
Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, MA 02747 (Dated: May 16, 2011) Gravitational lensing is presented through historical context and mathematical theory. This topic is developed through the work of Einstein and reinforced through evidence given from supporting scientists. Applications are discussed and describe the uses of gravitational lensing in cosmology. I. INTRODUCTION

Gravitational Lensing is the phenomena in which light bends in the presence of gravitational elds [2]. This theory was rst suggested by Isaac Newton, where rays of light should respond to the gravitational forces they travel through. Although there is no evidence of Newton testing his theories, Soldner decided to address this phenomenon in 1801. Soldners motivation was strictly fueled by the possibility of astonomical observations needing new explanation [1]. By modeling the problem through scattering, it can be said that a small particle with velocity close to the speed of light moving close enough to a large object will feel a force directed toward the center of the large object. Assuming a high velocity of the small particle, the traveling particle will merely feel a slight disturbance in the initial trajectory path due to the small amount of time the particle and large bodies are in contact with one another. Because the small particle is inuenced by the large gravitating object, calculating the deection angle is trivial. From Newtons laws, the angle of deection is described as [6] 2GM , (1) rc2 where r is the distance between the approaching particle and the large object, G is the =

gravitational constant, M is the mass of the large object, and c is the speed of light. Llight at this time was theorized to be a stream of massless particles called photons. This prediction therefore does not work because Newtons theories do not apply to massless particles because they feel no gravitational force. In 1907, Einstein began to work on this bending light problem. His formulation of the equivalence principle states that a photon in the presence of a gravitational eld will move as if the photon possessed mass. Einstain claimed that even though photons do not have mass, they have energy. His theory says that even energy must behave like mass in some manner. [1] After he realized that the light deection may be measurable, he then calculated the bending of light from background stars by the sun and came up with an answer exactly the same as Soldner. The problem with measuring the deection was that stars that are close to the Sun would yield incorrect data, so the task was then reduced to running this experiment during a solar eclipse where the Sun would not aect measurements [1]. Once Einstein had developed the general theory of relativity, he returned to this problem once again only to realize that his assumptions were incorrect because he did not account for the eects of curved space. If one were to look at at space-time in 4D, ds can be dened by [6] ds2 = c2 dt2 dr2 . (2)

Electronic address: bgreen1@umassd.edu

2 The straight lines that light follows are described by ds2 = 0. However, for the sake of this argument light bends when traveling through gravitational elds. So for the example given with a small particle traveling toward a large spherical mass M, one can see the metric changes to a spherical distrobution where [6] ds2 = (1+ 2GM 2 2 2GM )c dt (1 )dr2 . (3) 2 2 rc rc same distance. Since then, the eld of gravitational lensing began to soar with discoveries pertaining to the total amount of matter in galaxies, including dark matter [6]. More systems continue to be observed, and the applications of gravitational lensing have developed into many dierent elds of research in observational cosmology.

II.

DEVELOPING THE LENS EQUATION

This equation can be solved using power series and taking ds2 = 0. The original calculation that veried Soldners calculation was actually only half correct. The eld equations showed that energy not reacts to gravitational elds, but momentum as well. Solving for the new angular deection the result is then [6] =

To describe the mathematical framework that makes up gravitational optics, some initial assumptions are required. The rst is describing the background geometry using the Robertson-Walker metric where [2] dr2 + r2 (d + sin2 d . 1 Kr2 (5) The geometrical properties of space-time are described by this metric given in spherical polar coordinates. The cosmic scale factor is given by a(t), and the curvature parameter K is a constant that is dened as 1, 0, or -1. Since we are dealing with light trajectories, a Newtonian approximation is used. Light rays travel undisturbed from a background source until it is within range of the lens. Once the light ray is close enough to the lens, the ray is then deected by some small angle which then travels to an observer. It must also be true that the eective gravitational potential can be assumed that |2 | c2 , and the lens is moving at a velocity v c with the cosmological frame. With these assumptions, the deection of a light ray is dened by [1]

4GM , (4) rc2 which gave 1.74 arcsec as opposed to the previously determined 0.87 arcsec. Unfortunately due to complications with bad weather in Brazil in 1912, and the start World War I, the expeditions sent out to verify Einsteins new theoretical predictions failed. It was only later in 1919, the expeditions to Sobral and Principe later proved Einsteins calculations to be correct. [1] Einstein published a paper in 1936 where he investigated the deection of light coming from a distant star by the gravitational eld of another star. He stated that if the lens and the source are not perfectly aligned the image would appear as a ring, and if they are not in alignment the observer would see two images with a small separation angle. It was only a year later that Zwicky suggested that the same phenomena could be observed using galaxies as the sources and lenses. Since 2 = 2 dr, (6) galaxies have much larger masses than stars, c lightpath the observations are much more probable [4]. In 1979, the rst gravitational lens was where is perpendicular to the photon discovered when a point-like quasar was dou- route and the integral is taken along the light bly observed to have the same redshift or path.

ds2 = (cdt)2 a(t)2

3 this geometry to develop an expression for angular position of images and sources. FIG. 1 introduces the reduced deection angle , which is related to by the following rela tionship [4] Dds . (9) Ds Using the small angle approximation, we can see that = Ds = Ds Dds , (10)

which leads us to the well known lens equation where [2]

FIG. 1: Diagram of Gravitational Lensing. A light ray travels from source S to the observer O passing through the lens at an impact parameter . The light ray is deected through an angle , and the angular separations of source and image from the optic axis are denoted and . Ds is the angular diameter distance between observer and source, Dd is observer and lens, and Dds is lens and source. [4]

= ().

(11)

The lens equation describes the angular separation of the source from the optic axis based on the angular separation of the image and the reduced deection angle.
III. APPLICATIONS Microlensing

The phenomenon of gravitational lensing has explains an observer witnessing an object forming two or more distinct images of a single background source. Microlensing is a form of gravitational lensing where the lens is not strong enough to deliver a fully formed secondary image. This process makes the GM . (7) background source appear much brighter to (b, z) = b2 + z 2 the observer. The approximate timescale for Taking the gradient of the point lens poa microlensing event in our galaxy is dened tential and integrating with respect to dz as [1] yields the following result Dd te = . (12) v 2 GM b 4GM dz = 2 , = 2 (8) where v is the transverse velocity of the lens c cb (b2 + z 2 )3/2 with respect to the source. To get an idea which is the exact solution Einstein derived of this timescale, a solar mass lens Dd = 10 for a small particle traveling toward a large kpc and v = 102 km s1 gives an order of spherical mass. months. To detect microlensing, the probFIG. 1 shows a diagram of the geometry ability of witnessing this occur is increased involved in gravitational lensing. We can use by continuously monitoring many millions of

To evaluate the integral, the potential can be dened using the impact parameter b of the light ray as it crosses into the lens plane. The potential is a function of this impact parameter as well as the distance along the ray z. The potential of a point lens is dened as [6]

4 over time in the LMC. This idea was rst conceived in 1986 by Paczynski, and the rst microlensing event was discovered in 1993 [5]. Ever since, several hundreds of events have been witnessed giving evidence of dark matter in the LMC [1]. The observation of rotation curves in spiral galaxies have given the most prominent evidence for the existence of dark matter in galaxies. An experiment measuring the doppler shift in the 21-cm line emitted by neutral hydrogen gas has been used to determine the rotational velocities associated with visible stars in the spiral galaxies [1]. Results seem to show that the rotational velocity is constant out to very large distances because there is no matter beyond the visible edge. Scientists have also observed rotation velocity for our galaxy only up to about 20 kpc [4]. Measurements beyond this distance are inaccurate, but since we know our galaxy depicts at rotation, searching for dark matter in the Milky Way is certainly plausible.
The Study of Cluster Masses

FIG. 2: This is a gure of the Einstein Cross taken by Geraint Lewis and Michael Irwin using the William Herschel Telescope [4]. The Einstein Cross is a multiple-imaged quasar.

stars [4]. An example of microlensing can be seen in Einsten Crosses shown FIG. 2. Notice the variation in brightness of the two images taken three years apart. It is believed that the variation in brightness is due to microlensing. The search for nonluminous objects (dark matter) in the halo of our galaxy has used microlensing as an approach. The total light amplied for all images from a lens and source is described by [1] A= x 1 + 1x 2 1 + 1 x2 4 , (13)

where x = S /E . The intrinsic position of the source is S , while the angle corresponding to the radius of the Einstein ring is E . One can see that amplication can be represented as a function of time because S is dependent on the relative velocities [4]. Several microlensing events have been found in the path of the Large Magentic Cloud (LMC), and hundreds have been observed in the direction of the bulge of our galaxy [6]. Microlensing can be used for a variety of applications, but the most powerful use is in the search for dark matter. Massive astrophysical compact halo objects (MACHOs) are a prime candidate in the quest for dark matter [6]. The theory is behind the use of light deection where scientists monitor millions of stars and their changes in brightness

Although gravitational lensing displays effects of bending light, this phenomenon depends on the total mass of the cluster in question. The bending of light from these background objects leads to images that are multiplied and even distorted. To describe this phenomena, the categories of strong and weak lensing are used. Each of these types of gravitational lensing are used to probe mass distributions in clusters with varying efciency [6]. Weak lensing has been introduced assuming a small scattering angle, and allows for the study of mass distributions at distances greater than the cluster core [1]. Strong lensing enables the determination of cluster lens mass prole through giant arcs in images, while more detailed mass models of these clusters can be obtained through the study of smaller arcs (arclets). Strong lensing studies have weaknesses where they display very

5 ble constant have obtained numbers in this range. For example, NASA obtained H0 = 77 (km/s)/Mpc from observations recorded at the Chandra X-ray Observatory [3]. Although this method is relatively new, the technology of using gravitational lensing to determine H0 could prove to be an eective

FIG. 3: Image of the Abell 2218 cluster taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Note the many arcs and arclets apparent in the photo. [4]

little information about the distribution of matter outside the core, but there are little contradictions with total mass estimates done with this method [1].
The Hubble Constant

Gravitational lensing suggests that light rays traveling from one source that construct varying images also dier in length [4]. This gives rise to an interesting theory where one could estimate these distances and therefore nd H0 through the redshift and a predetermined time delay. FIG. 4 shows quasar 0957 + 561. Note the two images shown. This quasar has a known time delay of 415 days, which is displayed in the gure [1]. Previous calculations done by Grogin and Narayan in 1996 estimate H0 80 (km/s)/Mpc [8]. This method was later employed in 2010 on images taken from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to measure a value of H0 = 72.6 3.1 (km/s)/Mpc [7]. Other methods of measuring the Hub-

FIG. 4: Lensed Quasar 0957+561 at a distance of 8.5x109 lyrs. [1]

one when developed further.

IV.

CONCLUSION

Gravitational Lensing is a valuable tool for determining the amount of matter in galaxies. The ability to explore dark matter, galaxies, and stars will enable the discovery of new phenomena. Further development will no doubt provide scientists with valuable results to broaden our knowledge of the universe.

[1] Bonometto S., Modern Cosmology IOP (2001). Publishing, 1 ED (2002) [3] Cain, F. Chandra Conrms the Hubble [2] Bartelmann, M, Schneider, P. Weak GravConstant (2006-08-08) itational Lensing Physics Reports, 340 [4] Coles P., Lucchin F., Cosmology. The Ori-

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gin and Evolution of Cosmic Structure John Precision Measurements of the Hubble ConWiley and Sons, Ltd, 2 ED (2002) stant, Spatial Curvature, and the Dark En[5] Paczynski, Bohdan, Gravitational Miergy Equation of State. The Astrophysical crolensing by the Galactic Halo, Ap.J. 304, Journal (2010) 1-5 (1986). [8] Grogin N., Narayan R., A New Model of the [6] Roos M., An Introduction to Cosmology Gravitational Lens 0957+561 and a Limit on John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2 ED (2003) the Hubble Constant Ap.J. 473, 570 (1996) [7] Suyu S.H., Marshall P.J., et al., Dissecting the Gravitational Lens B1608+656. II.