Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jul 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999hst..prop.8804f&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #8804
Mathematics
Logic
Hst Proposal Id #8804
Scientific paper
The 60 known gravitational lenses are a unique, mass-selected sample of galaxies, and their properties encode an enormous range of astrophysical information. The numbers of lenses and their distribution in separation, lens and source redshift determine both the cosmological model {Omega_0, Lambda_0} and the mass function of galaxies and its evolution. Detailed studies of lenses with time delay measurements yield estimates of the Hubble constant H_0. By comparing the mass distribution determined from the lensed images to HST optical photometry, we measure the mass-to-light ratios of lens galaxies and their evolution to z sim 1, their luminosity function, and the relationship between the mass and luminosity distributions in galaxies. We can use the wavelength dependence of the flux ratios between the images to measure the extinction and extinction laws in the lens galaxies. Quantitatively, these goals require HST, the only instrument with the essential resolution and sensitivity given the small angular sizes and typical redshifts of lens systems. With uniform, multi-band HST data we can pursue all these goals {it simultaneously}, making valuable independent measurements in cosmology and as a unique probe of galaxies and their evolution based on mass rather than light. We request 30 orbits using WFPC2 with F555W and F814W to observe 15 lens systems. We request that the data be made public immediately.
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