Gravitational-lensing critical curve ($\det A(\mathbf{\theta })=0$)

A critical curve is a locus in the image plane where the Jacobian matrix of the thin gravitational lens equation becomes singular. Its formal point-source lensing magnification diverges, while finite source size regularizes the measured flux. Its mapped locus in the source plane is a gravitational-lensing caustic.

The local and mean lensing convergence obey $2\kappa =2\bar{\kappa }+r{\bar{\kappa }}^{\prime }$. Hence the radial derivative of the lens mapping is $1-{\alpha }^{\prime }(r)=1-2\kappa +\bar{\kappa }$. Its zeros are radial gravitational-lensing critical curves, where radial stretching diverges and images merge on crossing the mapped gravitational-lensing caustic.

For circular reduced deflection $\alpha (r)=r\bar{\kappa }(r)$, a displacement perpendicular to the radial direction is multiplied by $1-\bar{\kappa }$. Vanishing of this eigenvalue gives a tangential gravitational-lensing critical curve. Its source position is $\beta =r-\alpha (r)=0$, so its caustic is the origin in the circular model. Near it, images are stretched tangentially into arcs or an Einstein ring.

A caustic is the source-plane image of a gravitational-lensing critical curve. Crossing a generic fold caustic creates or destroys a pair of images of opposite parity. For a circular lens, a tangential critical circle maps to an aligned-source point, while a radial critical circle can map to a finite source-plane circle. Critical curves and caustics consequently occupy different planes and must not be identified as the same angular locus.