leonidas moustakas

JPL/Caltech

Title: A census (leading to a mass function?) of dark matter through multiwavelength and/or temporal observations of strong gravitational lenses

Abstract: Strong gravitational lenses have long unveiled lensing potentials that deviate from smoothness, through "anomalous" flux ratios. These observations may arise from an enormous range of mass-scales. At the cosmological distances of these lenses, the optical depth to microlensing is order unity, so Earth- to Solar-mass objects, baryonic or not, can cause micro- (or nano-) lensing. These disproportionally large magnification effects are transient with timescales of months. At larger scales, substructures up to 1E9 solar masses can have a 'permanent' differential magnification effect (on greater than human timescales). The ultimate potential of these effects could be a statistically significant measurement of a "mass function" of dark matter. I will present the current state of affairs, ongoing work on the topic, and future prospects from the ground and from space.