Properties of Faint Distant Galaxies as seen through Gravitational Telescopes

R. Pello (1) , T. Contini (2) , M. Lemoine-Busserolle (2) , J. Richard (2) , J. P. Kneib (3) , J. F. Le Borgne (1) , D. Schaerer (1) , M. Bolzonella (4)

1 IRAP - Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie
2 LATT - Laboratoire Astrophysique de Toulouse-Tarbes
3 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
4 UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna

This paper reviews the most recent developments related to the use of lensing clusters of galaxies as Gravitational Telescopes in deep Universe studies. We summarize the state of the art and the most recent results aiming at studying the physical properties of distant galaxies beyond the limits of conventional spectroscopy. The application of photometric redshift techniques in the context of gravitational lensing is emphasized for the study of both lensing structures and the background population of lensed galaxies. A presently ongoing search for the first building blocks of galaxies behind lensing clusters is presented and discussed.

Mots clés: Astrophysics

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]; Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]

R. Pello, T. Contini, M. Lemoine-Busserolle, J. Richard, J. P. Kneib, et al.. Properties of Faint Distant Galaxies as seen through Gravitational Telescopes. Gravitational Lensing: a unique tool for cosmology, Jan 2003, France. pp.5229. ⟨hal-00661236⟩