Gravitational lensing from a spacetime perspective.

Perlick, Volker (2004) Gravitational lensing from a spacetime perspective. Living Reviews in Relativity. ISSN 1433-8351

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Abstract

The theory of gravitational lensing is reviewed from a spacetime perspective, without quasi-Newtonian approximations. More precisely, the review covers all aspects of gravitational lensing where light propagation is described in terms of lightlike geodesics of a metric of Lorentzian signature. It includes the basic equations and the relevant techniques for calculating the position, the shape, and the brightness of images in an arbitrary general-relativistic spacetime. It also includes general theorems on the classification of caustics, on criteria for multiple imaging, and on the possible number of images. The general results are illustrated with examples of spacetimes where the lensing features can be explicitly calculated, including the Schwarzschild spacetime, the Kerr spacetime, the spacetime of a straight string, plane gravitational waves, and others.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Living Reviews in Relativity
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3100/3101
Subjects:
?? physics and astronomy (miscellaneous)qc physics ??
ID Code:
34484
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
09 Nov 2010 13:53
Refereed?:
No
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
08 Aug 2024 23:40