A two-dimensional distributed resistance model has been used to simulate the measured dark current voltage (J-V) curve and the absolute electroluminescence (EL) images of a GaAs solar cell, with the deviation between the simulated and experimental results smaller than 5%. The effects of different kind of defects on the EL distributions with various current densities were also analyzed, and it has been demonstrated that it was possible to identify the defects by analyzing the current-density dependent EL distributions and also by analyzing the current-density dependent voltage difference (Delta V) between the defects and normal points. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.