Strong Lensing considerations for the LSST observing strategy

Understand

Strong gravitational lensing enables a wide range of science: probing cosmography; testing dark matter models; understanding galaxy evolution; and magnifying the faint, small and distant Universe.

• However to date exploiting strong lensing as a tool for these numerous cosmological and astrophysical applications has been severely hampered by limited sample sized.
• LSST will drive studies of strongly lensed galaxies, galaxy groups and galaxy clusters into the statistical age.
• Time variable lensing events, e.g.