Star Talk: Revealing the Nature of Dark Matter with Strong Gravitational Lensing

How are astronomers investigating dark matter by analyzing gravitational lenses? Learn more at the ASX’s upcoming Star Talk on June 28 at 5 pm with Dr. Daniel Gilman, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto’s David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Catch the event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/542630403411996

Star Talk Abstract: “Most of the mass in the Universe exists in the form of dark matter, an enigmatic substance connected to ‘normal’ matter only through the force of gravity,” writes Dr. Gilman. “As a result, the properties of the dark matter particle and its production mechanism remain a mystery. In my talk, I will review the compelling evidence for the existence of dark matter, and describe what we have learned by analyzing visually spectacular strong gravitational lenses.”

“Gravitational lensing refers to the deflection of light by gravitational fields, and strong lensing refers to a particular case where the extreme deformation of space by a massive foreground object produces multiple highly-magnified and distorted images of a luminous background source,” he continues.

“I will review how strong lensing provides insights into the nature of dark matter on scales ranging from galaxy clusters, the largest concentrations of mass in the Universe, all the way down to sub-galactic scales, where strong lensing reveals the presence of otherwise-invisible dark matter structures throughout the cosmos.”

To join the Star Talk on June 28th at 5:00 pm EST:
Zoom link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/81206689945
Meeting ID: 812 0668 9945
Passcode: 280621