Gravitational Lensing
PHY-765, Summer Semester, Potsdam University, 2018
On this page you’ll find information about the course on Graviational Lensing (PHY-765) at Potsdam University, summer semester 2018.
If you are interested in the course, please fill out this short google questionnaire. This will help for preparing and focusing the lectures and seminars througout the semester.
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Course Description
The theory of gravitational lensing (GL) is one of the three fundamental observational consequences of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. GL describes how rays of light are bent by massive astronomical objects like stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters. This results in magnification and potentially in multiple images on the sky of lensed sources.
These unique consequences of GL have been instrumental and of growing importance in modern extragalactic astronomy. Laying out the theoretical framework describing the principles and consequences of GL, this course will focus on recent studies enabled by GL and on scientific applications, where GL plays a crucial role. These include galaxy (cluster) mass determination, spatially resolved mapping of low-mass galaxies in the distant Universe, determining the expansion rate of the Universe, and detecting planets around other stars.
In weekly seminars the course will focus on “astronomer skill development”, which will introduce and explore tasks and tools used on a daily to weekly basis by most astronemers. This includes text review, problem solving, scientific outreach preparation, presentation skills, etc.
Hence, this course provides a broad overview of gravitaional lensing from both the observational and theoretical side, and help develop personal skills for general use in astronomy.
Basic Info
Course: Gravitational lensing - Summer Semester 2018 PHY-765
Location: Golm, physics building, 2nd floor, room 011 (2.28.2.011)
Time: Wednesdays 08:00 - 10:00 (45min. lecture + 45min. seminar)
Contact: kbschmidt at aip.de
Course Plan
Lecture Slides
Slides week 11 (no lecture - compensated by longer lectures the rest of the semester)
Seminar Worksheets
Worksheet week 11 (no lecture - compensated by longer lectures the rest of the semester)
Exam
The course is part of the PHY-765 module, where the student’s are free to take the exam in any of the module courses. The exam format of the Gravtiational Lensing course is:
“45 min. oral examination: 20 min presentation w. topics known in advance + Q&A.”
The details of the exam are described in Exam Info and Format.
Literature
- Dodelson, S. (2017). Gravitational Lensing. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107129764
- Schneider, P., Ehlers, J., & Falco, E. E. (1992). Gravitational Lenses. Gravitational Lenses, 112. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03758-4
- Schneider, P., Kochanek, C., & Wambsganss, J. (2006). Gravitational Lensing: Strong, Weak and Micro (Vol. 33). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Science & Business Media. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30310-7
- Wambsganss, J. (1998). Gravitational Lensing in Astronomy. Living Reviews in Relativity, 1(1), 12. http://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-1998-12
- Treu, T., Marshall, P. J., & Clowe, D. (2012). Resource Letter GL-1: Gravitational Lensing. American Journal of Physics, 80(9), 753–763. http://doi.org/10.1119/1.4726204