Gravitational Lens Time Delays in CDM

In standard CDM halo models, the time delay of a gravitational lens is determined by the cold baryon mass fraction, f, of the visible galaxy relative to the overall halo. The observed time delays in PG1115+080, SBS1520+530, B1600+434 and HE2149-2745 give Hubble constants consistent with the HST Key Project value of H0=72+/-8 km/s Mpc only if f>0.2 (1-sided 68% confidence), which is larger than the upper bound of fmax=Omega_b/Omega_0=0.15+/-0.05 estimated from the CMB. If all available baryons cool and f=fmax then the time delays imply H0=65+/-6 km/s Mpc (95% confidence). If local inventories of cold baryons, f=0.013/h70, are correct, then H0=52+/-6 km/s Mpc and the halo parameters closely match isothermal mass models. Isothermal models are also consistent with strong and weak lens studies, stellar dynamics and X-ray observations on these scales, while significantly more centrally concentrated models are not. There is a a conflict between gravitational lens time delays, the local distance scale and standard CDM halo models.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. 22 pages, 7 figure

Smoothing Algorithms and High-order Singularities in Gravitational Lensing

We propose a new smoothing method for obtaining surface densities from discrete particle positions from numerical simulations. This is an essential step for many applications in gravitational lensing. This method is based on the ``scatter'' interpretation of the discrete density field in the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. We use Monte Carlo simulations of uniform density fields and one isothermal ellipsoid to empirically derive the noise properties, and best smoothing parameters (such as the number of nearest neighbors used). A cluster from high-resolution simulations is then used to assess the reality of high-order singularities such as swallowtails and butterflies in caustics, which are important for the interpretation of substructures in gravitational lenses. We also compare our method with the Delaunay tesselation field estimator using the galaxy studied by Bradac et al. (2004), and find good agreements. We show that higher order singularities are not only connected with bound subhaloes but also with the satellite streams. However, the presence of high-order singularities are sensitive to not only the fluctuation amplitude of the surface density, but also the detailed form of the underlying smooth lensing potential (such as ellipticity and external shear).Comment: ApJ, Accepted,(Released November 1st). The high resolution figures are availabel at http://202.127.29.4/mppg/english/data

Gravitational Lensing Limits on the Average Redshift of Submillimeter Sources

The submillimeter universe has now been explored with the Submillimeter Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and a claim has been made to the presence of a new population of optically unidentified starforming galaxies at high redshifts (z \gtrsim 3). Such a population dramatically alters current views on the star formation history of the universe as well as galaxy formation and evolution. Recently, new radio identifications of the Hubble Deep Field submm sources have led to the suggestion that some of these sources are at low redshifts, however, submm source redshift distribution is still not well determined. Here, we present an upper limit to the average redshift by comparing the expected number of gravitationally lensed submm sources due to foreground cluster potentials to current observed statistics of such lensed sources. The upper limit depends on the cosmological parameters, and at the 68% confidence level, < 3.1, 4.8, 5.2, or 8.0 for (Omega,Lambda) values of (0.3,0.7), (0.5,0.5), (0.3,0.0) or (1.0,0.0) respectively. These upper limits are consistent with redshift distribution for 850 micron sources implied by starformation history models based on measured background radiation at far-infrared and submm wavelengths.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters (4 pages, including 1 table

Cosmological Parameter Estimation from SN Ia data: a Model-Independent Approach

We perform a model independent reconstruction of the cosmic expansion rate based on type Ia supernova data. Using the Union 2.1 data set, we show that the Hubble parameter behaviour allowed by the data without making any hypothesis about cosmological model or underlying gravity theory is consistent with a flat LCDM universe having H_0 = 70.43 +- 0.33 and Omega_m=0.297 +- 0.020, weakly dependent on the choice of initial scatter matrix. This is in closer agreement with the recently released Planck results (H_0 = 67.3 +- 1.2, Omega_m = 0.314 +- 0.020) than other standard analyses based on type Ia supernova data. We argue this might be an indication that, in order to tackle subtle deviations from the standard cosmological model present in type Ia supernova data, it is mandatory to go beyond parametrized approaches

A numerical study of the effects of primordial non-Gaussianities on weak lensing statistics

While usually cosmological initial conditions are assumed to be Gaussian, inflationary theories can predict a certain amount of primordial non-Gaussianity which can have an impact on the statistical properties of the lensing observables. In order to evaluate this effect, we build a large set of realistic maps of different lensing quantities starting from light-cones extracted from large dark-matter only N-body simulations with initial conditions corresponding to different levels of primordial local non-Gaussianity strength $f_{\rm NL}$. Considering various statistical quantities (PDF, power spectrum, shear in aperture, skewness and bispectrum) we find that the effect produced by the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity is relatively small, being of the order of few per cent for values of $|f_{\rm NL}|$ compatible with the present CMB constraints and reaching at most 10-15 per cent for the most extreme cases with $|f_{\rm NL}|=1000$. We also discuss the degeneracy of this effect with the uncertainties due to the power spectrum normalization $\sigma_8$ and matter density parameter $\Omega_{\rm m}$, finding that an error in the determination of $\sigma_8$ ($\Omega_{\rm m}$) of about 3 (10) per cent gives differences comparable with non-Gaussian models having $f_{\rm NL}=\pm 1000$. These results suggest that the possible presence of an amount of primordial non-Gaussianity corresponding to $|f_{\rm NL}|=100$ is not hampering a robust determination of the main cosmological parameters in present and future weak lensing surveys, while a positive detection of deviations from the Gaussian hypothesis is possible only breaking the degeneracy with other cosmological parameters and using data from deep surveys covering a large fraction of the sky.Comment: accepted by MNRA

Cosmic Gravitational Shear from the HST Medium Deep Survey

We present a measurement of cosmic shear on scales ranging from 10\arcsec to 2\arcmin in 347 WFPC2 images of random fields. Our result is based on shapes measured via image fitting and on a simple statistical technique; careful calibration of each step allows us to quantify our systematic uncertainties and to measure the cosmic shear down to very small angular scales. The WFPC2 images provide a robust measurement of the cosmic shear signal decreasing from $5.2$ at 10\arcsec to $2.2$ at 130\arcsec .Comment: 4 pages 2 Postscript figures, uses emulateapj.cls Astrophysical Journal Letters, December 1, 200

Gravitational Lens Statistics for Generalized NFW Profiles: Parameter Degeneracy and Implications for Self-Interacting Cold Dark Matter

Strong lensing is a powerful probe of the distribution of matter in the cores of clusters of galaxies. Recent studies suggest that the cold dark matter model predicts cores that are denser than those observed in galaxies, groups and clusters. One possible resolution of the discrepancy is that the dark matter has strong interactions (SIDM), which leads to lower central densities. A generalized form of the Navarro, Frenk and White profile (Zhao profile) may be used to describe these halos. In this paper we examine gravitational lensing statistics for this class of model. The optical depth to multiple imaging is a very sensitive function of the profile parameters in the range of interest for SIDM halos around clusters of galaxies. Less concentrated profiles, which result from larger self-interaction cross-sections, can produce many fewer lensed pairs. Lensing statistics provide a powerful test for SIDM. More realistic and observationally oriented calculations remain to be done, however larger self-interaction cross-sections may well be ruled out by the very existence of strong lenses on galaxy cluster scales. The inclusion of centrally dominant cluster galaxies should boost the cross-section to multiple imaging. However our preliminary calculations suggest that the additional multiple imaging rate is small with respect to the differences in multiple imaging rate for different halo profiles. In future statistical studies, it will be important to properly account for the scatter among halo profiles since the optical depth to multiple imaging is dominated by the most concentrated members of a cluster population.Comment: 58 pages, 14 figures. To be published in ApJ. Revised version includes discussion of magnification bias and the effect of a centrally dominant galax

High redshift AGNs from the 1Jy catalogue and the magnification bias

We have found a statistically significant (99.1 \%) excess of red ($O-E>2$) galaxies with photographic magnitudes $E<19.5$, $O< 21$ taken from the APM Sky Catalogue around $z \sim 1$ radiosources from the 1Jy catalogue. The amplitude, scale and dependence on galaxy colours of the observed overdensity are consistent with its being a result of the magnification bias caused by the weak gravitational lensing of large scale structures at redshift $z \approx 0.2-0.4$ and are hardly explained by other causes, as obscuration by dust.Comment: uuencoded file containing 3 ps files: the main text, a table and a figure. To appear in ApJ Letter

Non-hydrostatic gas in the core of the relaxed galaxy cluster A1795

Chandra data on A1795 reveal a mild edge-shaped discontinuity in the gas density and temperature in the southern sector of the cluster at r=60/h kpc. The gas inside the edge is 1.3-1.5 times denser and cooler than outside, while the pressure is continuous, indicating that this is a "cold front", the surface of contact between two moving gases. The continuity of the pressure indicates that the current relative velocity of the gases is near zero, making the edge appear to be in hydrostatic equilibrium. However, a total mass profile derived from the data in this sector under the equilibrium assumption, exhibits an unphysical jump by a factor of 2, with the mass inside the edge being lower. We propose that the cooler gas is "sloshing" in the cluster gravitational potential well and is now near the point of maximum displacement, where it has zero velocity but nonzero centripetal acceleration. The distribution of this non-hydrostatic gas should reflect the reduced gravity force in the accelerating reference frame, resulting in the apparent mass discontinuity. Assuming that the gas outside the edge is hydrostatic, the acceleration of the moving gas can be estimated from the mass jump, a ~ 800 h km/s/(10^8 yr). The gravitational potential energy of this gas that is available for dissipation is about half of its current thermal energy. The length of the cool filament extending from the cD galaxy (Fabian et al.) may give the amplitude of the gas sloshing, 30-40/h kpc. Such gas bulk motion might be caused by a disturbance of the central gravitational potential by past subcluster infall.Comment: Minor text clarifications to correspond to published version. 5 pages, 1 figure in color, uses emulateapj.sty. ApJ Letters in pres

String Dilaton Fluid Cosmology

We investigate $(n+1)$-dimensional string-dilaton cosmology with effective dilaton potential in presence of perfect-fluid matter.We get exact solutions parametrized by the constant \gam of the state equation p=(\gam-1)\rho, the spatial dimension number $n$, the bulk of matter, and the spatial curvature constant $k$. Several interesting cosmological behaviours are selected. Finally we discuss the recovering of ordinary Einstein gravity starting from string dominated regime and a sort of asymptotic freedom due to string effective coupling.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, submitted to Int. Jou. Mod. Phys.