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J.N. Winn, P.L. Schechter, J.N. Hewitt (MIT), A. Patnaik (MPifR/Bonn), J.E.J. Lovell (CSIRO/Canberra)
We are searching for new, radio-loud gravitational lenses (multiple-image quasars) in the southern sky. New lenses can be used to determine the Hubble constant by measuring time delays, and to study dark matter in distant galaxies. The survey will also increase the power of lensing statistics to determine the cosmological constant. Our present sample consists of about 6000 flat-spectrum radio sources, which were examined at high resolution with the VLA and are being followed up with MERLIN, VLBA and optical imaging. To date we have discovered 3 lenses as well as several intruiging candidates, including an unusually red object with 5 radio components. This work has been supported by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, NSF and CSIRO.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: jnwinn@mit.edu