An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

A concentration of matter, such as a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies, that bends light rays from a background object, resulting in production of multiple images. If the two objects and the Earth are perfectly aligned, the light from the distant object appears as a ring from Earth. This is called an Einstein Ring, since its existence was predicted by Einstein in his theory of general relativity.

→ gravitational; → lens.

The main equation of gravitational lens theory that sets a relation between the angular position of the point source and the observable position of its image.

→ gravitational; → lens; → equation.

The act of producing or the state of a → gravitational lens.

→ gravitational; → lensing.

The difference in light travel times along the various light paths from the source to the observer when the source image is divided into several images because of → gravitational lensing. According to the theory of → general relativity, light rays are deflected in the vicinity of massive objects. If the light source and the deflector are sufficiently well aligned with the observer, and obey some conditions on their distances (→ Einstein radius), we can observe several (generally distorted and magnified) images of the source. A property of → strong lensing is that the light travel time from the source to the observer is generally not identical for the different images. In other words, we not only see several images of one same object, but we also see this object, in each image, at different times. This means, in one image the lensed object will be observed before the other image. Given a physical model of the gravitational lens, the light travel time for each image can be computed. The expression giving the time delay has two components: a term is called → geometric delay, and the second term, known as the → Shapiro time delay. The latter is due to time dilation by the gravitational field of the lens, a direct consequence of general relativity. See also → time delay distance.

→ gravitational; → lensing; → time; → delay.

A transparent optical component consisting of one or more pieces of optical glass with surfaces so curved (usually spherical) that they serve to converge or diverge the transmitted rays from an object, thus forming a real or virtual image of that object.

From L. lens (gen. lentis) "lentil," cognate with Gk. lathyros, on analogy of the double-convex shape.

Adasi, related to adas "lentil," from Ar. 'adas.
The original Pers. terms for lentil are: mažu, mažâné, (Gilaki, Tabari) marju, marji, murje, marjum, (Laki) noži, (Aftari) marju, Mid.Pers. mijûg "lentil;" cf. Skt. masura- "lentil."

→ optical system.

→ lens; → system.

An effect predicted by → general relativity whereby a rotating body alters the → space-time around it. This effect can be thought of as a kind of "dragging of inertial frames," as first named by Einstein himself. A massive spinning object pulls nearby objects out of position compared to predictions for a non-rotating object. The effect is important for rapidly rotating → neutron stars and → black holes, but that near Earth is extraordinarily small: 39 milli-arc second per year, about the width of a human hair seen from 400 meters away.

Named after Austrian physicists Joseph Lense (1890-1985) and Hans Thirring (1888-1976), who first discovered this phenomenon in 1918; → effect.

1) The act or effect produced by a lens, in particular a → gravitational lens.
2) Pertaining to the object that produces the lensing effect. → lensing galaxy.

From → lens + → -ing.

1) Lenzeš, verbal noun of lenzidan, verb formed from E. lens + -idan infinitive suffix.
2) Lenzandé, verbal adj. from lenzidan, as above.

Effect created by a → gravitational lens.

→ lensing; → effect.

A galaxy that acts as a → gravitational lens. The effect can also be due to a cluster of galaxies.

→ lensing; → galaxy.

An astronomical object that creates → gravitational lensing. See also → lensing galaxy.

→ lensing; → object.

An important quantity in the characterization of → gravitational lensing. The lensing potential is obtained by projecting the three-dimensional Newtonian potential on the lens plane and by properly re-scaling it. It is a two-dimensional analog to the → gravitational potential.

→ lensing; → potential.

A type of → gravitational lens, where the foreground → lensing object is of low mass, and the multiple images produced are too close together on the sky to be observed as separate images. Gravitational microlensing occurs when a foreground star happens to lie very close to our line of sight to a more distant background star. The foreground star acts as a lens, splitting the light from the background source star into two or more images, which are typically unresolved. However, these images of the source are magnified, by an amount that depends on the angular separation between the lens and source. If with the passage of time the lens moves across the Earth-source, the amount of brightening changes. Typically the source will appear to brighten, reach a maximum and then fade symmetrically back to normal over the course of a few weeks or months; this is called a → microlensing event. If the foreground star happens to host a planet with projected separation near the paths of these images, the planet will also act as a lens, further perturbing the images and resulting in a characteristic, short-lived signature of the planet. Microlensing is used in the search for → dark matter in the → Milky Way galaxy and its nearest neighbours, as well as for → extrasolar planets (e.g. B. S. Gaudi, 2010, arXiv:1002.0332).

→ micro-; → lensing.

Determining the three various parameters of a microlensing event (the lens-source relative parallax and proper motion, and the mass of the lens) from only one physical parameter (the event time scale). Currently the microlensing degeneracy affects the vast majority of events and makes any individual event impossible to interpret with certainty.

→ microlensing; → degeneracy.

The effect arising whenever a source star and lens star pass each other at an angular separation involving the → Einstein radius (R_E) of the lens. The time-scale for such an event is defined as t_E = R_E/v, where v is the magnitude of the relative transverse velocity between source and lens projected onto the lens plane.

→ microlensing; → event.

Same as → divergent lens.

→ negative; → lens.

A lens used in the optical testing of an aspheric surface. It converts a spherical wavefront into one that precisely matches the surface under test. When the wavefront is reflected from that surface, it reverses its path and, if the surface is perfect, results in a perfect emerging spherical wavefront, which is easily evaluated.

→ null; → lens.

The lens or system of lenses in a → telescope or → microscope that magnify an object and project a larger → image. The object lens is nearest the object being viewed

→ objective; → lens.

A theoretical, ideal lens capable of producing perfect images. Used as a lens design and analysis tool to image collimated output from an afocal system.

→ perfect; → lens.

A → divergent lens composed of one concave surface and one plane surface. This type of lens has a negative focal point and produces a → virtual image.

→ plano-; → concave; → lens.