Steps towards Nonlinear Cluster Inversion Through Gravitational Distortions. I. Basic Considerations and Circular Clusters

Abstract

The distortion of images of faint, high-redshift galaxies by light deflection at foreground clusters of galaxies can be used to determine the (projected) mass distribution of the clusters. In the case of strong distortions, which lead to arcs in clusters, the position of the arc and/or its radius of curvature yields an estimate for the total mass inside a circle traced out by the arc. Weak distortions, which can be observed to much larger angular separations, can be used to determine the mass profile. In the case of weak distortions, an approximation which identifies the observed distortion with the shear produced by the lens can be made; this (linear) approximation breaks down, however, if one wants to probe the center of the cluster, i.e., approach the region within which giant arcs can be formed. The methods developed hitherto, the most advanced of which is due to Kaiser \& Squires, rely on the linear approximation and thus cannot yield reliable results for regions close to the center of the cluster. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical basis to extend the Kaiser \& Squires method into the nonlinear regime, thereby making it more powerful, since the nonlinear distortions provide strong constraints on the mass profile, which in combination with the weak distortions should yield more reliable cluster inversions. We discuss the statistical properties of the observable image ellipticities and provide several methods to determine the local distortion by the lens from observed galaxy images, some of which rely