Gravitational Lensing: Einstein Rings and Dark Matter

• University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Bhuvnesh Jain’s research area is cosmology and gravitational lensing. He studies how tiny ripples in the matter and energy in the early universe grew to form the network of galaxies we observe today. This process is tied to the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the two big puzzles at the intersection of astronomy and fundamental physics. Jain is co-director of Penn's Center for Particle Cosmology, which brings together theorists and observers to tackle these puzzles.

Gravitational lensing, the twisting and bending of light rays we receive from distant galaxies, is a powerful probe of cosmology. Jain will show the varied and beautiful lensing phenomena discovered by astronomers. He will describe the interpretation of these as the action of massive galaxies, filaments of dark matter, black holes and distant planets.