Related papers: The Third Image of the Large-Separation Lensed Qua…
We have built a new model for the lens system SDSS J1004+4112 including the recently measured time delay of the fourth quasar image. This time delay has a strong influence on the inner mass distribution of the lensing cluster ($\rho \propto…
A galaxy can act as a gravitational lens, producing multiple images of a background object. Theory predicts there should be an odd number of images but, paradoxically, almost all observed lenses have 2 or 4 images. The missing image should…
Highly magnified lensed galaxies allow us to probe the morphological and spectroscopic properties of high-redshift stellar systems in great detail. However, such objects are rare, and there are only a handful of lensed galaxies which are…
Observed magnitudes of many quasars with redshifts exceeding $z=5$ correspond to luminosities $L_{\rm bol} > 10^{14}\,L_\odot$. The standard mechanism of quasar energy release by accretion suggests that masses of superluminous quasars…
Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool for probing the inner structure of distant quasars. In this context, we have obtained spectropolarimetric observations of the two images of the broad absorption line (BAL) quasar…
Spectral differences between lensed quasar image components are common. Since lensing is intrinsically achromatic, these differences are typically explained as the effect of either microlensing, or as light path time delays sampling…
Time-delay cosmography (TDC) using multiply-lensed quasars (QSOs) by galaxies has recently emerged as an independent and competitive tool to measure the value of the Hubble constant. Lens galaxy clusters hosting multiply-imaged QSOs, when…
Using a high resolution radio image, we successfully resolve the two fold image components B and C of the quasar lens system SDSS J1029+2623. The flux anomalies associated with these two components in the optical regime persist, albeit less…
(abridged) Aims: RXS J113155.4-123155 (z=0.66) is a quadruply imaged lensed quasar with a resolved Einstein Ring. The goal of this paper is to provide a full characterization of this system, and more particularly accurate astrometry and…
We report the discovery of the first known probable case of a physical triple quasar (not a gravitational lens). A previously known double system, QQ 1429-008 at z = 2.076, is shown to contain a third, fainter QSO component at the same…
We present cosmological results from the statistics of lensed quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Lens Search. By taking proper account of the selection function, we compute the expected number of quasars lensed by…
We report the detection of four images in the recently discovered lensed QSO RX J0911.4+0551. With a maximum angular separation of 3.1", it is the quadruply imaged QSO with the widest known angular separation. Raw and deconvolved data…
High-redshift binary quasars provide key insights into mergers and quasar activity, and are useful tools for probing the spatial kinematics and chemistry of galaxies along the line-of-sight. However, only three sub-10-kpc binaries have been…
We present theoretical and observational studies of strong gravitational lenses produced by clusters of galaxies. Our purpose is to test the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model at small and highly non-linear scales where it has been claimed that…
We present the first three galaxy clusters of a larger sample of the most X-ray luminous galaxy clusters selected from the ROSAT Bright Survey. This project, which is a systematic search for strong lensing, aims at arc statistics, mass…
A unique reconstruction of the image of a high redshift source galaxy responsible for multiple long arcs in the z = 0.4 cluster 0024+1654 is obtained by inverse lensing. Deep B and I imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope (Based on…
The discovery of the first strongly lensed $(\mu \approx 50)$ quasar at $z>6$ (J0439+1634) represents a breakthrough in our understanding of the early Universe. We derive the theoretical consequences of the new discovery. We predict that…
We exploit the widely-separated images of the lensed quasar SDSS J1029+2623 ($z_{em}$=2.197, $\theta =22^{\prime\prime}\!\!.5$) to observe its outflowing wind through two different sightlines. We present an analysis of three observations,…
We study the statistics of large-separation gravitational lens systems produced by non-spherical halos in the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model. Specifically, we examine how the triaxiality of CDM halos affects the overall lensing probabilities…
The aim of this paper is to provide a plausible explanation for the large amplitude microlensing events observed in the cluster lensed quasar system SDSS J1004+4112. The microlensed quasar images appear to lie well clear of the stellar…