by brachiopod » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:13 pm
I keep coming back to the fact that a gravitational lens does not act like any optical lens or lens system, and that using the term lens only serves to confuse any debate.
An optical lens system can produce multiple images because, in the simplest case of a fractured lens where each fragment has a suffered a slight mislignment of the original axis, each fragment casts an image identical to that cast by the unfractured lens, but each in a slightly different place.
In a simple (spherical) gravitational lens the original 'image' is a ring (or part thereof), never a 'likeness' of the source, as the result of the rotation about the axis of the unique null geodesic. And if there exist ellipsoidal gravitational lenses, the shape of the null geodesic will change systematically around the axis to produce an elliptical ring widest where the curvature of space/time is greatest. But it will still be a ring even if a deformed one, and if quasar, lens, and observer are coaxial it will be a complete one.
It may prove, with technological improvements, that the elements of Einstein's Cross are indeed intersections of annular images, but as the images stand, for the Einstein's Cross to be produced by gravitational lensing, gravitational lenses must behave like conventional lenses and Einstein (and all those HST photos) must be wrong. Fortunately he isn't and there must be some other explanation for the Cross.
Occams razor would suggest that there are four quasars, but the images indicate that two (east and south) are brighter and possibly in front of the central low redshift object, while the other two (north and west) are dimmer and possibly behind it. - Which is why, I guess, that there is so much effort being made to discredit Occam.
And so much pretence that gravitational lenses behave like optical lenses.
Steve
I keep coming back to the fact that a gravitational lens does not act like any optical lens or lens system, and that using the term lens only serves to confuse any debate. [I found that it helped in understanding the difference by taking a drawing of a fresnel lens complete with ray paths and swapping the elements and paths closest to the axis with those furthest from it]
An optical lens system can produce multiple images because, in the simplest case of a fractured lens where each fragment has a suffered a slight mislignment of the original axis, each fragment casts an image identical to that cast by the unfractured lens, but each in a slightly different place.
In a simple (spherical) gravitational lens the original 'image' is a ring (or part thereof), never a 'likeness' of the source, as the result of the rotation about the axis of the unique null geodesic. And if there exist ellipsoidal gravitational lenses, the shape of the null geodesic will change systematically around the axis to produce an elliptical ring widest where the curvature of space/time is greatest. But it will still be a ring even if a deformed one, and if quasar, lens, and observer are coaxial it will be a complete one.
It may prove, with technological improvements, that the elements of Einstein's Cross are indeed intersections of annular images, but as the images stand, for the Einstein's Cross to be produced by gravitational lensing, gravitational lenses must behave like conventional lenses and Einstein (and all those HST photos) must be wrong. Fortunately he isn't and there must be some other explanation for the Cross.
Occams razor would suggest that there are four quasars, but the images indicate that two (east and south) are brighter and possibly in front of the central low redshift object, while the other two (north and west) are dimmer and possibly behind it. - Which is why, I guess, that there is so much effort being made to discredit Occam.
And so much pretence that gravitational lenses behave like optical lenses.
Steve