Abstract

Received 2001 January 21, accepted 2001 March 9

Using a multiple-lens plane algorithm, we study light propagation in inhomogeneous universes for 43 different COBE-normalized Cold Dark Matter models, with various values of the density parameter &OHgr;₀, cosmological constant &lgr;₀, Hubble constant H₀, and rms density fluctuation σ₈.We performed a total of 3798 experiments, each experiment consisting of propagating a square beam of angular size 21.9″ 21.9″ composed of 116 281 light rays from the observer up to redshift z = 3. These experiments provide statistics of the magnification, shear, and multiple imaging of distant sources. The results of these experiments might be compared with observations, and eventually help constrain the possible values of the cosmological parameters. Additionally, they provide insight into the gravitational lensing process and its complex relationship with the various cosmological parameters.