1999/04/13 by Ralf Quast, Phillip Helbig
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph
published as Astron.Astrophys. 344 (1999) 721-744 · LaTeX, 16 pages, 23 PostScript files in 10 figures. Paper version available on request. Data available from http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/ceres/data_from_papers/papers.html or http://gladia.astro.rug.nl:8000/ceres/data_from_papers/papers.html
arxiv created 1999/04/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We reanalyse optical gravitational lens surveys from the literature in order to determine relative probabilities in the λ0-Ω0 plane, using a softened singular isothermal sphere lens model. In addition, we examine a portion of the λ0-Ω0 plane which includes all viable cosmological models; this is vital for comparison with other cosmological tests. The results are, within the errors, consistent with those of more specialised analyses, such as those concerning upper limits on λ0 in a flat universe. We note that gravitational lensing statistics can provide a quite robust LOWER limit on the cosmological constant as well, which could prove important in confirming current claims of a positive cosmological constant. At 95% confidence, our lower and upper limits on λ0-Ω0, using lens statistics information alone, are respectively -3.17 and 0.3. For a flat universe, these correspond to lower and upper limits on λ0 of respectively -1.09 and 0.65.