Deflection of light and time delay in hyperbolic Einstein-Straus--de Sitter solution

Abstract

We analyze strong gravitational lensing by a spherically symmetric mass distribution within the Einstein-Straus-de Sitter framework in a spatially open Universe with negative curvature ($k = -1$). Applying the theory to the lensed quasar SDSS J1004+4112, we identify a critical threshold for the current scale factor $a_0$ of approximately $2.6 \times 10^{27}$ m, below which the effects of negative spatial curvature on lensing observables become significant, corresponding to a current curvature density of $|\Omega_{k0}| \gtrsim 0.0025$. In particular, for $\Omega_{k0} = -0.15$, the light bending increases slightly by about 1%, while the time delay exhibits a more substantial increase of about 10%. Beyond this threshold, however, the lensing observables are found to be insensitive to the current scale factor and converge to those characteristic of a spatially flat Universe. Importantly, our results indicate that, even where spatial curvature would otherwise enhance lensing observables, the effect of the cosmological constant remains present and acts to reduce light bending, corroborating the claim of Rindler and Ishak.