Title:

Scrutinizing the Inscrutable: Direct Mass Measurements of
Massive Elliptical Galaxies



Adam Bolton
IfA



Abstract:

Elliptical galaxies are simple in appearance, but unlike
spiral galaxies, their stars do not follow circular orbits.
As a consequence, the mass-density structure of elliptical
galaxies generally remains hidden from simple deduction
based on Newtonian gravity.  In the rare instance that an
elliptical galaxy acts as a strong gravitational lens of a
more distant object, this difficulty can be overcome.  My
collaborators and I have used the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
and the Hubble Space Telescope to assemble a sample of
elliptical strong lenses that is unprecedented in size and
uniformity.  I will describe our survey -- the SLACS Survey
-- and the insights into the elliptical galaxy population
that result from the direct strong-lensing galaxy mass
measurements we can make.  Pretty pictures and weighty
result-figures alike will abound.