Topological Defects in Gravitational Lensing Shear Fields

Abstract

Shear fields due to weak gravitational lensing have characteristic coherent patterns. We describe the topological defects in shear fields in terms of the curvature of the surface described by the lensing potential. A simple interpretation of the characteristic defects is given in terms of the the umbilical points of the potential surface produced by ellipsoidal halos. We show simulated lensing shear maps and point out the typical defect configurations. Finally, we show how statistical properties such as the abundance of defects can be expressed in terms of the correlation function of the lensing potential.