Probing the dark universe with gravitational lensing
Loading...
Date
2018-09-17
Authors
Karami, Mansour
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
Since its early success as an experimental test of the theory of general relativity in 1919,
gravitational lensing has come a long way and is firmly established as an indispensable element
for many astrophysical applications. In this thesis, we explore novel applications of gravitational
lensing that further our understanding of the dark sectors of the cosmos and other astrophysical
objects, namely dark matter nanostructure, black holes and the Galactic disk. We pay particular
attention to developing concrete and optimal statistical methodologies and numerical implemen-
tations for these novel probes.
We start by developing a statistical framework to measure the dark matter power spectrum in
the deep nonlinear regime, using transient weak lensing, and simultaneously measure the time
delays for strongly lensed quasars. We then outline how observations of microlensing in optical
and radio can unravel the structure, dynamics, and content of the Galactic disk, and in particular,
be used to detect stellar mass black holes. Lastly, using the shadow images of the super-massive
black holes caused by extreme lensing effect, we can learn about the structure of space-time,
accretion flows and astrophysical jets. We present a Bayesian framework for analyzing the data
from the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.
Description
Keywords
Gravitational Lensing, Dark Matter, Gravitational Microlensing, Black Hole, Quasar