Theoretical studies of gravitational lensing phenomena: the case of multiply imaged quasars
type: CreativeWork
description: In the early 1960s, gravitational lensing has received a special attention when S. Liebes and S. Refsdal have derived in detail some of the basic equations of the theory. While Liebes (1964) discussed the probability of detecting these effects and considered several astrophysical applications, Refsdal (1964) derived, inter alia, his famous relation which links the Hubble parameter (H0) to the expected time delays between pairs of lensed images. From that moment, the scientific community fully realized that gravitational lensing effects offer a new way of probing cosmology. However, an important fact has been to accept that the determination of H0 seems to be model dependent, not only on the universe model, but also on the mass distribution of the deflector. The main topic of the present thesis constitutes a straight continuation of this inquiry. We have been sounding parts of the mathematical lensing framework on two fronts. First, considering to first order a very small misalignment between the source, the lens and the observer, we have derived the expressions of the lensed image positions along with their amplification ratios, for the case of power-law axially symmetric mass distributions, the so-called ε-γ family of models (Wertz, Pelgrims & Surdej, 2012). After combining these results, it has allowed us to derive an expression for H0 independently of the model parameters. We have extended this study to the ε-γ family of models with external shear, as well as to the singular isothermal ellipsoid (SIE) models. For both these types of models, we have obtained an expression of H0 which is once again independent, to first order, of the model parameters. Furthermore, even though these families of models remain rigorously distinct, except for the singular isothermal sphere (SIS) and the perfect alignment, the expression of H0 in terms of observable quantities and of the source position takes surprisingly the same simple form. In addition, we have demonstrated the feasi…
abstract: In the early 1960s, gravitational lensing has received a special attention when S. Liebes and S. Refsdal have derived in detail some of the basic equations of the theory. While Liebes (1964) discussed the probability of detecting these effects and considered several astrophysical applications, Refsdal (1964) derived, inter alia, his famous relation which links the Hubble parameter (H0) to the expected time delays between pairs of lensed images. From that moment, the scientific community fully realized that gravitational lensing effects offer a new way of probing cosmology. However, an important fact has been to accept that the determination of H0 seems to be model dependent, not only on the universe model, but also on the mass distribution of the deflector. The main topic of the present thesis constitutes a straight continuation of this inquiry. We have been sounding parts of the mathematical lensing framework on two fronts. First, considering to first order a very small misalignment between the source, the lens and the observer, we have derived the expressions of the lensed image positions along with their amplification ratios, for the case of power-law axially symmetric mass distributions, the so-called ε-γ family of models (Wertz, Pelgrims & Surdej, 2012). After combining these results, it has allowed us to derive an expression for H0 independently of the model parameters. We have extended this study to the ε-γ family of models with external shear, as well as to the singular isothermal ellipsoid (SIE) models. For both these types of models, we have obtained an expression of H0 which is once again independent, to first order, of the model parameters. Furthermore, even though these families of models remain rigorously distinct, except for the singular isothermal sphere (SIS) and the perfect alignment, the expression of H0 in terms of observable quantities and of the source position takes surprisingly the same simple form. In addition, we have demonstrated the feasi…
author: Wertz, Olivier
language: en
keywords: Gravitational lensing, Cosmology, Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences, Space science, astronomy & astrophysics, Physique, chimie, mathématiques & sciences de la terre, Aérospatiale, astronomie & astrophysique
license: http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
date published: 2014-04-01
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:49:24Z
provider: Université de Liège
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ULiège - Université de Liège