Bridging Gaps Between Dynamical Probes of Galaxies

Strong and weak gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics are commonly used diagnostic tools of the mass distribution around galaxies, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Each of these three techniques has so far been developed and used independently of the others, mostly because of the lack of datasets that could be jointly exploited with different probes. In the next few years, however, new telescopes will start delivering unprecedented amounts of data, which will make it possible to combine the three probes over large samples of galaxies. By combining strong and weak gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics we have the potential to obtain more accurate measurements of the mass structure of galaxies than would be possible when relying on each tool separately. This, however, will require a dedicated effort from the three communities, towards addressing new sources of systematic errors and the development of models that can be simultaneously fit to gravitational lensing and stellar kinematics data. The goal of this workshop is to bring together experts from the three fields to develop a joint strategy for fully exploiting the potential of dynamical probes for galaxy science in the 2020s. 

Most of the workshop time will be devoted to group work and discussion sessions. Some of the key questions that will be addressed during the week are: 

- What science questions do strong lensing, galaxy-galaxy lensing and stellar dynamics have the potential to answer by the end of the decade? 

- What are the current limitations of each probe and what other systematics will start to matter with the new surveys? 

- How can we build models that are flexible and accurate for our science goals and can be constrained with survey data and finite computational power? 

- What action items will need to be carried out by the community in the near future, in order to enable a successful joint use of multiple dynamical probes?