Abstract
The focussing of gravitational radiation by the interior and exterior gravitational field of a Newtonian gravitational lens is considered. A graphical method for determining the caustic structure of a Newtonian gravitational lens is presented and the caustic structure of a solar type gravitational lens is discussed. Estimates of the amplitude magnification in the caustic region indicate that waves with frequencies less than a critical cutoff frequency ω c are not amplified significantly. For a lens of massM this cutoff frequency is ω c ≈(10-1πM)-1; for the Sun ω c ≈104s-1.
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Work supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant PHY78-05368.
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Bontz, R.J., Haugan, M.P. A diffraction limit on the gravitational lens effect. Astrophys Space Sci 78, 199–210 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00654034
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00654034