Detection of Gravitational Lenses and Measurement of Time Delays from Classical Electromagnetic Radiation Fluctuations

I suggest that measurements of intensity fluctuations caused by classical wave interactions can be used to find unresolved gravitational lenses and determine time delays of essentially arbitrary length among the images formed by a gravitational lens. No interferometry i s needed, the time delays can be measured by analyzing the intensity signal alone. The technique works with lensed sources that have constant luminosities and is capable of measuring very long time delays. I suggest interferometric techniques, capable of measuring time delays of arbitrary length, that can be used to refine the measurements.Comment: To appear in Monthly Notices Roy. Astr. Soc., Postscript file, 18 double spaced page

A magnetic liquid deformable mirror for high stroke and low order axially symmetrical aberrations

We present a new class of magnetically shaped deformable liquid mirrors made of a magnetic liquid (ferrofluid). Deformable liquid mirrors offer advantages with respect to deformable solid mirrors: large deformations, low costs and the possibility of very large mirrors with added aberration control. They have some disadvantages (e.g. slower response time). We made and tested a deformable mirror, producing axially symmetrical wavefront aberrations by applying electric currents to 5 concentric coils made of copper wire wound on aluminum cylinders. Each of these coils generates a magnetic field which combines to deform the surface of a ferrofluid to the desired shape. We have carried out laboratory tests on a 5 cm diameter prototype mirror and demonstrated defocus as well as Seidel and Zernike spherical aberrations having amplitudes up to 20 microns, which was the limiting measurable amplitude of our equipmentComment: To appear in Optics Expres