Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Arc(let)s in clusters of galaxies

  • Published:
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review Aims and scope

Summary

The discovery of giant gravitational arcs and arclets in rich clusters of galaxies is one of the major events of the last decade in observational cosmology. High resolution imaging in subarcsecond seeing conditions of giant arcs gives information on the cluster potential and the matter distribution within the inner regions of clusters. Ultra-deep photometry of the clusters reveals numerous arclets with an orthoradial orientation from which one can infer the projected mass profile at large distance and the redshift distribution of the faintest distant background galaxies which are unobservable with standard spectroscopic techniques. Thanks to the strong magnification factor, the spectroscopy of giant arcs is possible and we can therefore observe with great detail a few very distant galaxies. Individual redshifts of arcs give the total mass of the lens, whereas the spectroscopy of a large sample of arcs also gives information on the redshift distribution of distant galaxies. It is obvious that cluster lenses play an important role as large natural telescopes for probing the distant universe. Finally, observations of multiple-arc configurations due to different sources may even constrain the cosmological parameters. We are now confident that gravitational lensing will be an essential tool within the next decade for observing very high redshift galaxies and the weak shear generated by the largest structures of the universe.

In this review we summarize the present status of gravitational arc(let)s surveys with particular emphasis on the most important issues which have arisen during the last years and on the prospects for the future, regarding the rebirth of the Hubble Space Telescope, the coming of a new generation of Very Large Telescopes, and the development of large CCDs in the optical and the infrared.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abell, G.O., 1958, ApJS3, 211

    Google Scholar 

  • Abell, G.O., Corwin, Jr., H.G., Olowin, R.P., 1989, ApJS70, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Aragón-Salamanca, A., Ellis, R.S., Sharples, R.M., 1991, MNRAS248, 128

    Google Scholar 

  • Angonin, M.-C., Hammer, F., Le Fèvre, O., 1992, inGravitational Lenses. R. Kayser, T. Schramm, L. Nieser, eds., Springer

  • Babul, A., Lee, M.H., 1991, MNRAS250, 407

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., 1993, A&A276, 9

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., Schneider, P., 1991, A&A248, 349

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., Schneider, P., 1992, A&A259, 413

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., Schneider, P., 1993a, A&A268, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., Schneider, P., 1993b, A&A271, 421

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmann, M., Schneider, P., 1994, preprint

  • Bartelmann, M., Weiss, A., 1994, preprint

  • Begelman, M.C., Blandford, R. D., 1987, Nat330, 46

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, G.M., Tyson, J.A., Kochanek, C.S., 1993, AJ105, 816

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergmann, A.G., Petrosian, V., Lynds, R., 1990, ApJ350, 23

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergmann, A.G., Petrosian, V., 1993, ApJ413, 18

    Google Scholar 

  • Blain, A.W., Longair, M.S., 1993, MNRAS264, 509

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Jaroszyński, M., 1981, ApJ246, 2

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Narayan, R., 1986, ApJ310, 568

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Kochanek, C.S., 1987, ApJ321, 658

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Kochanek, C.S., 1988, inDark Matter in the Universe. Jerusalem Winter School for Theoretical Physics. J. Bachall, T. Piran, S. Weinberg, eds., World Sciencitifc

  • Blandford, R.D., Narayan, R., 1986, ApJ310, 568

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Narayan, R., 1992, ARA&A30, 311

    Google Scholar 

  • Blandford, R.D., Saust, A.B., Brainerd, T.G., Villumsen, J.V., 1991, ApJ251, 600

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnet, H., Fort, B., Kneib, J.-P., Mellier, Y., Soucail, G., 1993, A&A280, L5

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnet, H., Mellier, Y., Fort, B., 1994, ApJ Letters (in press)

  • Borgeest, U., v. Linde, J., Refsdal, S., 1991, A&A251, L35

    Google Scholar 

  • Braimer, T.G., Sanders, R.H., 1992, MNRAS257, 97

    Google Scholar 

  • Briel, U.G., Henry, J.P., Böhringer, H., 1992, A&A259, L31

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, W.L., 1981, ApJ244, L1

    Google Scholar 

  • Butcher, H., Oemler, A. Jr., Wells, D.C., 1983, ApJS52, 183

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, S.M., Press, W.H., Turner, E.L., 1992, ARA&A30, 499

    Google Scholar 

  • Colless, M.M., Ellis, R.S., Taylor, K., Hook, R.N., 1990, MNRAS244, 408

    Google Scholar 

  • Colless, M.M., Ellis, R.S., Broadhurst, T.J., Taylor, K., Peterson, B.A., 1993, MNRAS261, 19

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuillandre, J.-C., Fort, B., Picat, J.-P., Soucail, G., Altieri, B., Beigbeder, F., Dupin, J.-P., Pouthié, T., Ratier, G., 1994, A&A281, 603

    Google Scholar 

  • Dar, A., 1992, Nucl. Phys. B. Proc. [Suppl.]28A, 321

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson, M., 1993,Observational Cosmology. ASP Conference Series, Vol.51, p. 434. G. Chincarini, A. Iovino, T. Maccacaro, D. Maccagni (eds.)

  • Durret, F., Gerbal, D., Lachièze-Rey, M., Lima-Neto, G., Sadat, R., 1994, A&A (in press)

  • Ellis, R., Allington-Smith, J., Smail I., 1991, MNRAS249, 184

    Google Scholar 

  • Etherington, I.M.M., 1933, Phil. Mag.15, 761

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyles, C.J., Watt, M.P., Bertram, D., Church, M.J., Ponman, T.J., Skinner, G.K., Willmore, A.P., 1991, ApJ376, 23

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahlman, G.G., Kaiser, N., Squires, G., Woods, D., 1994, preprint

  • Flores, R.A., Primack, J., 1994, preprint

  • Fort, B., Mellier, Y., Picat, J.-P., Rio, Y., Lelièvre, G., 1986, Proceeding of the SPIE627, 321

    Google Scholar 

  • Fort, B., Prieur, J.-L., Mathez, G., Mellier, Y., Soucail, G. 1988, A&A200, L17

    Google Scholar 

  • Fort B., 1989,Astronomy, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics. Proceeding of the third ESO/CERN symposium. M. Caffo, R. Fanti, G. Giacomelli, A. Renzini (eds.). Kluwer Academic Publisher, 1989

  • Fort, B., 1992, inGravitational Lenses. R. Kayser, T. Schramm, L. Nieser (eds.), Springer

  • Fort, B., Le Fèvre, O., Hammer, F., Cailloux, M., 1992, ApJ399, L125

    Google Scholar 

  • Fort, B., Mellier, Y., Kneib, J.-P., Pelló, R., Bonnet, H., 1993,Observational Cosmology. PASP Conferences series, Vol.51, G. Chincarini, A. Iovino, T. Maccacaro, D. Maccagnani (eds.)

  • Geller, M., Huchra, J., 1989, Sci246, 867

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbal, D., Durret, F., Lima-Neto, G., Lachièze-Rey, M. 1992, A&A253, 77

    Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, I.M., Maccacaro, T., Schild, R.E., Wolter, A., Stocke, J.T., Morris, S.L., Henry, J.P. 1990, ApJS72, 567

    Google Scholar 

  • Giraud, E., 1988, ApJ334, L69

    Google Scholar 

  • Giraud, E., 1992a, private communication

  • Giraud, E., 1992b, A&A259, L49

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, S.A., Narayan, R., 1988, ApJ324, L37

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, S.A., Narayan, R., 1989, ApJ344, 637

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunn, J.E., 1967, ApJ147, 61

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, F., 1987, inHigh Redshift and Primeval Galaxies. Third IAP Workshop. J. Bergeron, D. Kunth, B. Rocca-Volmerange, J. Tran Thanh Van (eds.) Frontière, 1987

  • Hammer, F., Le Fèvre, O., Jones, J., Rigaut, F., Soucail, G. 1989, A&A208, L7

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, F., Rigaud, F., 1989, A&A226, 45

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer, F., 1991, ApJ383, 66

    Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J.-P., Gioia, I.M., Maccacaro, T., Morris, S.L., Stocke, J., Wolter A., 1992, ApJ386, 408

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoag, A., 1981, BAAS13, 799

    Google Scholar 

  • Infante, L., Giraud, E., Triay, R., 1991, The Messenger64, 65

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaroszyński, M., Park, C., Paczyński, Gott III, J.R., 1990, ApJ365, 22

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, N., 1992, ApJ388, 272

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, N., Squires, G., 1993, ApJ404, 441

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassiola, A., Kovner, I., Blandford, R.D., 1992, ApJ396, 10

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassiola, A., Kovner, I., Fort, B., 1992, ApJ400, 41

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassiola, A., Kovner, I., 1993a, ApJ417, 450

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassiola, A., Kovner, I., 1993b, ApJ417, 474

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, J.L., 1987, A&A182, L19

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, J.L., Jakson, S., 1988, A&A197, 29

    Google Scholar 

  • Kayser, R., Schramm, T., 1988, A&A191, 39

    Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, J.-P., Mellier, Y., Longaretti, 1992, inGravitational Lenses. R. Kayser, T. Schramm, L. Nieser (eds.), Springer

  • Kneib, J.-P., 1993,Thèse de l'Université Paul Sabatier de Toulouse

  • Kneib, J.-P., Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Mathez, G., 1993, A&A273, 367

    Google Scholar 

  • Kneib, J.-P., Mathez, G., Fort, B., Mellier, Y., Soucail, G., Longaretti, P.-Y., 1994, A&A (in press)

  • Kochanek, C.S., Blandford, R.D., Lawrence, C.R., Narayan, R., 1989, MNRAS238, 43

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanek, C.S., 1990, MNRAS247, 135

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanek, C.S., Blandford, R.D., 1991, ApJ375, 492

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanek, C.S., 1992, inGravitational Lenses. R. Kayser, T. Schramm, L. Nieser (eds.), Vol.406, 278, Springer

  • Kochanek, C.S., Narayan, R., 1992, ApJ401, 461

    Google Scholar 

  • Koo, D.C., 1988, inLarge Scale Motions in the Universe, V.C. Rubin, G.V. Coyne (eds.), Princeton University Press

  • Koo, D.C., Kron, R.G., 1992, ARA&A30, 613

    Google Scholar 

  • Kormann, R., Schneider, P., Bartelmann, M., 1994, preprint

  • Kovner, I., 1987a, ApJ312, 22

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovner, I., 1987b, ApJ316, 52

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovner, I., 1987c, ApJ321, 686

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovner I., 1988,The Post Recombinaison Universe. NATO ASI Series C. Vol.240, N. Kaiser, A.N. Lasenby (eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers 1988

  • Kovner, I., Paczyński, B., 1988, ApJ335, L10

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovner, I., 1989, ApJ337, 621

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristian, J., Sachs, R.K., 1966, ApJ143, 379

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristian, J., 1967, ApJ147, 864

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavery, R.J., Henry, J.P., 1988, ApJ329, L21

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavery, R.J., Pierce, M.J., McClure, R.D., 1993, ApJ418, 43

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Borgne, J.-F., Pelló, R., Sanahuja, B., 1992, A&AS95, 87

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Fèvre, O., Hammer, F., Angonin, M.C., Gioia, I.M., Luppino, G., 1994, ApJ422, L5

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilly, S.J., Cowie, L.L., Gardner, J.P., 1991, ApJ369, 79

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilly, S.J., 1993, ApJ411, 501

    Google Scholar 

  • Longaretti, P.-Y., 1994 (in preparation)

  • Luppino, G.A., Gioia, I.M., 1992, A&A265, L9

    Google Scholar 

  • Luppino, G.A., Gioia, I.M., Annis, J., Le Fèvre, O., Hammer, F. 1993, ApJ416, 444

    Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, I.M., Luppino, G.A., Hammer, F., Le Fèvre, O., Annis, I. M., 1994, preprint

  • Lynds, R., Petrosian, V., 1986, BAAS18, 1014

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynds, R., Petrosian, V., 1988, BAAS20, 644

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynds, R., Petrosian, V., 1989, ApJ 336, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathez, G., Fort, B., Mellier, Y., Picat, J.-P., Soucail, G. 1992, A&A256, 343

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, I., Ellis, R.S., Couch, W.J., 1988, MNRAS230, 249

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellier, Y., Mathez, G., 1987, A&A175, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellier, Y., Soucail, G., Fort, B., Le Borgne, J.-F., Pelló, R., 1990, inGravitational Lensing. Y. Mellier, B. Fort, G. Soucail (eds.), Springer

  • Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Soucail, G., Mathez, G., Cailloux, M., 1991, ApJ380, 334

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Kneib, J.-P., 1993, ApJ407, 33

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellier, Y., 1993, inParticle Astrophysics. Proceedings of the IVe Rencontres de Blois. G. Fontainem, Trân Thanh Vân (eds.), Frontières

  • Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Bonnet, H., Kneib, J.-P., 1994, inCosmological Aspects of X-ray Clusters of Galaxies. NATO ASI. S. Waltraut et al. (eds.), Kluwer Academic Publisher

  • Melnick, J., Altieri, B., Gopal-Krishna, Giraud, E., 1993, A&A271, L8

    Google Scholar 

  • Milgrom, M., 1987, A&A182, L21

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J.S., Goodrich, R.W., 1988, Nat331, 685

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1991a, ApJ370, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1991b, ApJ380, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1991c, ApJ379, 94

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1993a, ApJ403, 497

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1993b, ApJ403, 509

    Google Scholar 

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., 1994, preprint

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., Lehár, J., 1992, MNRAS259, 31p

  • Miralda-Escudé, J., Fort, B., 1993, ApJ417, L5

    Google Scholar 

  • Narasimha, D., Chitre, S.M., 1988, ApJ332, 75

    Google Scholar 

  • Narasimha, D., Chitre, S.M., 1993, A&A280, 57

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemiroff, R.J., Dekel, A., 1989, ApJ344, 51

    Google Scholar 

  • Nottale, L., Hammer, F., 1984, A&A141, 144

    Google Scholar 

  • Nottale, L., 1988, inDark Matter. Proceedings of the XXIIIrd Rencontre de Moriond. J. Audouze, J. Tran Thanh Van (eds.), Frontière

  • Paczyński, B., 1987, Nat325, 572

    Google Scholar 

  • Paczyński, B., Gorki, K., 1981, ApJ248, L101

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelló-Descayre, R., Soucail, G., Sanahuja, B., Mathez, G., Ojero, E., 1988, A&A190, L11

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelló, R., Le Borgne, J.-F., Soucail, G., Mellier, Y., Sanahuja, B., 1991, ApJ366, 405

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelló, R., Le Borgne, J.-F., Sanahuja, B., Mathez, G., Fort, B. 1992, A&A266, 6

    Google Scholar 

  • Refsdal, S., 1964, MNRAS128, 295

    Google Scholar 

  • Refsdal, S., Surdej, J., 1994, Rep. Prog. Phys. (in press)

  • Schneider, P., Weiss, A., 1988, A&A327, 526

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, P., Ehlers, J., Falco, E.E., 1992, inGravitational Lenses, Berlin, Springer

    Google Scholar 

  • Schramm, T., Kayser, R., 1987, A&A174, 361

    Google Scholar 

  • Smail, I., Ellis, R.S., Fitchett, Nørgaard-Nielsen, H.U., Hansen, L., Jørgensen, H.E., 1991, MNRAS252, 19

    Google Scholar 

  • Smail, I., Ellis, R.S., Aragón-Salamanca, A., Soucail, G., Mellier, Y., Giraud, E., 1993, MNRAS263, 628

    Google Scholar 

  • Smail, I., Ellis, R.S., Fitchett, M., Couch, W.J., Sharples, R.M., Jørgensen, H.E., 1993, MNRAS (in press)

  • Smail, I., Ellis, R.S., Fitchett, M., 1994, preprint (1994a)

  • Smail, I., Ellis, R.S., Fitchett, M., Edge, D., 1994, preprint (1994b)

  • Soucail, G., Fort, B., Mellier, Y., Picat, J.-P., 1987, A&A172, L14 (1987a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Soucail, G., Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Hammer, F., Mathez, G., 1987, A&A184, L7 (1987b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Soucail, G., Mellier, Y., Fort, B., Mathez, G., Cailloux, M., 1988, A&A191, L19

    Google Scholar 

  • Soucail, G., Fort, B., 1991, A&A243, 23

    Google Scholar 

  • Soucail, G., 1992,Clusters and Superclusters of Galaxies. NATO ASI Series C. Vol.366, A.C. Fabian (ed.), Kluwer Academic Publisher

  • Soucail, G., Arnaud, M., Mathez, G., 1994 (in preparation)

  • Surdej, J., et al., 1994,Gravitational Lenses in the Universe. Proceedings of the 31st Liège Astrophysical Colloqium

  • Tresse, L., Hammer, F., Le Fèvre, O., Proust, D., 1993, A&A277, 53

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, E.L., Ostriker, J.P., Gott, R.G., 1984, ApJ284, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, E., 1988, inDark Matter. Proceedings of the XXIIIrd Rencontre de Moriond. J. Audouze, J. Tran Thanh Van (eds.), Frontière

  • Tyson, J.A., 1988, AJ96, 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyson, J.A., Valdes, F., Wenk, R., 1990, ApJ349, L1

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdes, F., Tyson, J.A., Jarvis, J.F., 1983, ApJ271, 431

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D., Carswell, R.F., Weymann, R.J., 1979, Nat279, 381

    Google Scholar 

  • Wambsganss, J., Giraud, E., Schneider, P., Weiss, J., 1989, ApJ337, L73

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster, R.L., 1985, MNRAS213, 871

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, X.-P., Hammer, F., 1993, MNRAS262, 187

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, X.-P., 1993a, ApJ411, 513

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, X.-P., 1993b, A&A270, L1

    Google Scholar 

  • Zwicky, F., 1937, Phys. Rev.51, 290

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Toulouse URA285, 14, Av. Edouard Belin, F-31400, Toulouse, France

    B. Fort & Y. Mellier

Authors
  1. B. Fort
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Y. Mellier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fort, B., Mellier, Y. Arc(let)s in clusters of galaxies. The Astron Astrophys Rev 5, 239–292 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00877691

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00877691

Key words

Search

Navigation