Weak Lensing: Prospects for Parameter Estimation

Weak lensing of galaxies by large scale structure can potentially measure cosmological quantities as precisely as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) though the relation between the observables and the fundamental parameters is more complex and degenerate, especially in the full space of adiabatic cold dark matter models considered here. We introduce a Fisher matrix analysis of the information contained in weak lensing surveys to address these issues and provide a simple means of estimating how survey propreties and source redshift uncertainties affect parameter estimation. We find that even if the characteristic redshift of the sources must be determined from the data itself, surveys on degree scales and above can significantly assist the CMB on parameters that affect the growth rate of structure. Subject headings: gravitational lensing – cosmic microwave background