In this paper, we study the strong gravitational lensing of gravitational waves (GWs) from a statistical perspective, with particular focus on the high frequency GWs from stellar binary black hole coalescences. These are most promising targets for ground-based detectors such as Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (aLIGO) and the proposed Einstein Telescope (ET) and can be safely treated under the geometrical optics limit for GW propagation. We perform a thorough calculation of the lensing rate, by taking account of effects caused by the ellipticity of lensing galaxies, lens environments, and magnification bias. We find that in certain GW source rate scenarios, we should be able to observe strongly lensed GW events once per year ($\sim1~\text{yr}^{-1}$) in the aLIGO survey at its design sensitivity; for the proposed ET survey, the rate could be as high as $\sim80~\text{yr}^{-1}$. These results depend on the estimate of GW source abundance, and hence can be correspondingly modified with an improvement in our understanding of the merger rate of stellar binary black holes. We also compute the fraction of four-image lens systems in each survey, predicting it to be $\sim30$ per cent for the aLIGO survey and $\sim6$ per cent for the ET survey. Finally, we evaluate the possibility of missing some images due to the finite survey duration, by presenting the probability distribution of lensing time delays. We predict that this selection bias will be insignificant in future GW surveys, as most of the lens systems ($\sim90$ per cent) will have time delays less than $\sim1$ month, which will be far shorter than survey durations.
We present the first detailed computations of wave optics effects in the gravitational lensing of binary systems. The field is conceptually rich, combining the caustic singularities produced in classical gravitational lensing with quantum (wave) interference effects. New techniques have enabled us to overcome previous barriers to computation. Recent developments in radio astronomy present observational opportunities which, while still futuristic, appear promising.
We discuss how small-scale density perturbations on the Fresnel scale affect amplitudes and phases of gravitational waves that are magnified by gravitational lensing in geometric optics. We derive equations that connect the small-scale density perturbations with the amplitude and phase fluctuations to show that such perturbative wave optics effects are significantly boosted in the presence of macro model magnifications such that amplitude and phase fluctuations can easily be observed for highly magnified gravitational waves. We discuss expected signals due to microlensing by stars, dark matter…
Continuous gravitational waves are analogous to monochromatic light and therefore could be used to detect wave effects like interference or diffraction. This would be possible with strongly lensed gravitational waves. This article reviews and summaries the theory of gravitational lensing in the context of gravitational waves in two different regimes: geometric optics and wave optics, for two widely used lens models such as point mass lens and Singular Isothermal Sphere (SIS). Observable effects due to wave nature of gravitational waves are discussed. As a consequence of interference GWs produc…
Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo could observe the first lensed gravitational waves in the coming years, while the future Einstein Telescope could observe hundreds of lensed events. Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors can resolve arrival time differences of the order of the inverse of the observed frequencies. As LIGO/Virgo frequency band spans from a few $\rm Hz$ to a few $ \rm kHz$, the typical time resolution of current interferometers is of the order of milliseconds. When microlenses are embedded in galaxies or galaxy clusters, lensing can become more prominent and result in observab…
The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大学）；National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode（科利科德国家理工学院）；Universite Catholique de Louvain（天主教鲁汶大学）；Royal Observatory of Belgium（比利时皇家天文台）；Nikhef – National Institute for Subatomic Physics（尼赫夫–荷兰亚原子物理国家研究所）；Utrecht University（乌得勒支大学）；University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee（威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校）
Dark matter halos represent the highest density peaks in the matter distribution. Conversely, cosmic voids are under-dense patches of the universe. Probing the mass distribution of the universe requires various approaches, including weak gravitational lensing that subtly modifies the shape of distant sources, and Doppler lensing that changes the apparent size and magnitude of objects due to peculiar velocities. In this work, we adopt both gravitational and Doppler lensing effects to study the underlying matter distribution in and around cosmic voids/halos. We use the relativistic $N$-body code…
Gravitational lensing refers to the deflection of light by the gravity of celestial bodies, often predominantly composed of dark matter. Seen through a gravitational lens, the images of distant galaxies appear distorted. In this paper we discuss simulation of the image distortion by gravitational lensing. The objective is to enhance our understanding of how gravitational lensing works through a simple tool to visualise hypotheses. The simulator can also generate synthetic data for the purpose of machine learning, which will hopefully allow us to invert the distortion function, something which …
Gravitational lensing of fast radio bursts (FRBs) offers an exciting avenue for several cosmological applications. However, it is not yet clear how many such events future surveys will detect nor how to optimally find them. We use the known properties of FRBs to forecast detection rates of gravitational lensing on delay timescales from microseconds to years, corresponding to lens masses spanning fifteen orders of magnitude. We highlight the role of the FRB redshift distribution on our ability to observe gravitational lensing. We consider cosmological lensing of FRBs by stars in foreground gala…
We study weak gravitational lensing by the cosmic large-scale structure of the 21-cm radiation background in the 3d-weak lensing formalism. The interplay between source distance measured at finite resolution, visibility and lensing terms is analysed in detail and the resulting total covariance $C_{\ell}(k,k')$ is derived. The effect of lensing correlates different multipoles through convolution, breaking the statistical homogeneity of the 21-cm radiation background. This homogeneity breaking can be exploited to reconstruct the lensing field $\hatϕ_{\ell m}(κ)$ and noise lensing reconstruction …
Gravitational and plasma lensing share the same mathematical formalism in the limit of geometrical optics. Both phenomena can be effectively described by a projected, two-dimensional deflection potential whose gradient causes an instantaneous light deflection in a single, thin lens plane. We highlight the differences in the time-delay and lensing equations that occur because plasma lensing is caused by a potential directly proportional to the deflecting electron number density and gravitational lensing is caused by a potential related to the deflecting mass density by a Poisson equation. Since…
