Process / pipelineObservational cosmology

Weak Gravitational Lensing

Weak gravitational lensing occurs when light from distant sources bends slightly as it travels through the universe, passing through the gravitational fields of matter concentrations. Proposed theoretically by Nick Kaiser in 1992, this subtle effect has become one of the most powerful cosmological probes, directly revealing the distribution of all matter (dark and luminous) across cosmic distances.

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Sources

  1. Kaiser, N. (1992). Weak gravitational lensing of distant galaxies. Astrophysical Journal, 388, 272-286. DOI: 10.1086/171151
  2. Van Waerbeke, L., et al. (2000). Detection of weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 358, 30-44. link
  3. Hildebrandt, H., et al. (2020). KiDS+VIKING-450 and S-PLUS: Cosmic shear measurements with 1,346 square degrees. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 633, A69. DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201834878

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Referenced by

ScholarGateWeak Gravitational Lensing (Weak Gravitational Lensing for Dark Matter and Cosmology). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/astronomy/weak-gravitational-lensing