Title:

Weak Lensing - Current Status and Future Prospects



Nick Kaiser
IfA



Abstract:

Weak lensing uses the distorted shapes of distant galaxies to
probe the distribution of dark matter along the line of sight.
In this talk I will first give a brief review of the early history of
the subject.  I will then review the theoretical background for
light deflection in a lumpy universe and how the observed polarization
of galaxy shapes can be used to reconstruct the 2-dimensional projected
mass density and to derive the statistical properties of the mass
density field such as the power spectrum.  I will show examples of
weak lensing analyses that reveal the distribution of dark matter
in galaxy halos; in galaxy clusters and on supercluster scales.  I
will conclude with a discussion of the near term future prospects
for using weak lensing measurements from Pan-STARRS survey data
to probe dark matter and dark energy.