I will introduce the emerging field of multi-messenger gravitational lensing, starting from a broad outline of the science and the messengers, that include electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves, neutrinos. I will then summarise our ongoing observing campaign with the DECam instrument on the Blanco telescope, that aims to detect the gravitationally lensed kilonova counterpart to the gravitationally lensed gravitational wave signal from a distant binary neutron star merger. Whilst we may be fortunate to make this monumental breakthrough by the end of the current gravitational wave run (summer 2025), we are more likely to succeed in the future, aided by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. I will therefore introduce “Rubin”, including her capabilities, broad science impact (solar system to cosmology), status of on-sky commissioning observations, and how the international Rubin community continues to expand.
20th January 2025: Multi-messenger gravitational lensing and the Vera Rubin Observatory
SR 8/18. Time: 3:00 pm. Speaker: Graham Smith