Two Windows on Acceleration and Gravitation: Dark Energy or New Gravity?

Small distortions in the observed shapes of distant galaxies, a cosmic shear due to gravitational lensing, can be used to simultaneously determine the distance-redshift relation, r(z), and the density contrast growth factor, g(z). Both of these functions are sensitive probes of the acceleration. Their simultaneous determination allows for a consistency test and provides sensitivity to physics beyond the standard dark energy paradigm.