CfA Optical and Infrared Division Lunch Talks

December 9, 1999 Pratt Conference Room, Perkin G-04, 12:30 pm


Weak lensing study of low mass groups: implications for Omega_m

Dr. Henk Hoekstra, University of Gronigen

Groups of galaxies are the most common structures in the universe. Only recently it has become possible to identify a large number of such systems at intermediate redshifts thanks to the CNOC2 field galaxy redshift survey. We have measured for the first time the weak lensing signal induced by galaxy groups, and have obtained estimates for their average mass and mass-to-light ratio, leading to a new estimate for the density of the universe.