Gravitational lensing in braneworld gravity: formalism and applications

TL;DR

This paper develops a new formalism for gravitational lensing within braneworld gravity, providing formulas for key observables and estimating deviations from standard lensing, highlighting its potential to test extra dimensions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel lensing formalism specific to braneworld gravity and derives expressions for observable quantities in this framework.

Findings

Deviations in lensing observables can indicate braneworld effects.

Lensing can serve as a tool to test for extra dimensions.

Quantitative estimates for galaxy and cluster lensing deviations.

Abstract

In this article, we develop a formalism which is different from the standard lensing scenario and is necessary for understanding lensing by gravitational fields which arise as solutions of the effective Einstein equations on the brane. We obtain general expressions for measurable quantities such as time delay, deflection angle, Einstein ring and magnification. Subsequently, we estimate the deviations (relative to the standard lensing scenario) in the abovementioned quantities by considering the line elements for clusters and spiral galaxies obtained by solving the effective Einstein equations on the brane. Our analysis reveals that gravitational lensing can be a useful tool for testing braneworld gravity as well as the existence of extra dimensions.