Quasar Lensing: the Observer's Point of View

Abstract

The determination of the Hubble parameter H_0 is probably one of the most important applications of quasar lensing. The method, based on the measurement of the so-called ``time-delay'' between the lensed images of distant sources, e.g., quasars, and on detailed mass modeling of the potential well responsible for the multiple images, yields an accuracy at least comparable with other techniques and that can be improved further with high precision observations, as can be obtained with intrumentation of constantly increasing quality. The basics of the ``time-delay'' method are described, and the emphasis is put on the observational constraints available to the astrophysicist in order to implement the method and to derive an accurate value for H_0, independent of any standard candle or any strong prior on the other cosmological parameters.

Review on quasar lensing given at the winter school 'Gravitational Lensing: a unique tool for cosmology', Aussois, France, January 2003. To appear in ASP conference series, eds. D. Valls-Gabaud & J.-P. Kneib