Investigating gravitational lensing diffraction in the laboratory with structured light

Abstract

We use spatial light modulation to investigate the diffractive effects of gravitational lensing in the laboratory. Using this new platform for laboratory astrophysics, we can overcome the coherence challenges that prevent the observation of diffraction in astronomical imaging. These studies will inform gravitational lensing of gravitational waves when imaging of gravitational waves becomes available. Our previous work involved studying lensing by a single mass, symmetric and elliptical. This work focuses on the patterns produced by a binary-mass system. We observed rich 2-dimensional interference patterns bounded by caustics. Comparison of experimental results with preliminary theoretical calculations is excellent.