Related papers: Probabilistic selection of high-redshift quasars

Of the hundreds of $z\gtrsim6$ quasars discovered to date, only one is known to be gravitationally lensed, despite the high lensing optical depth expected at $z\gtrsim6$. High-redshift quasars are typically identified in large-scale surveys…

We present the results of an optical spectroscopic survey of 46 heavily obscured quasar candidates. Objects are selected using their mid-infrared (mid-IR) colours and magnitudes from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and their…

We present follow-up spectroscopy to the Calar Alto Deep Imaging Survey (CADIS), reporting on the quasars in the CADIS 16h-field, and including preliminary data from two other fields. In this 10' x 10' field we found six quasars at redshift…

While the selection of strongly lensed galaxies with 500{\mu}m flux density S_500>100 mJy has proven to be rather straightforward (Negrello et al. 2010), for many applications it is important to analyze samples larger than the ones obtained…

Machine learning techniques, specifically the k-nearest neighbour algorithm applied to optical band colours, have had some success in predicting photometric redshifts of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs): Although the mean of differences between…

We assemble a catalogue of 488 spectroscopically confirmed very high ($z\geq5.00$) redshift quasars and report their near- ($ZYJHK_{s}/K$) and mid- (WISE W1234) infrared properties. 97\% of the VH$z$Q sample is detected in one or more NIR…

This is the fourth paper in a series aimed at finding high-redshift quasars from five-color imaging data taken along the Celestial Equator by the SDSS. during its commissioning phase. In this paper, we use the color-selected sample of 39…

We present the discovery of 3 quasar lenses in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), selected using two novel photometry-based selection techniques. The J0941+0518 system, with two point sources separated by 5.46" on either side of a galaxy,…

We predict the effects of gravitational lensing on the color-selected flux-limited samples of z~4.3 and z>5.8 quasars, recently published by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our main findings are: (i) The lensing probability should be…

We present the discovery of eight quasars at z~6 identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) overlap regions. Individual SDSS imaging runs have some overlap with each other, leading to repeat observations over an area spanning >4000…

The identification of physically associated kiloparsec-scale quasar pairs is important for understanding galaxy evolution, the growth of supermassive black holes, and their co-evolution with host galaxies. However, their rarity and the high…

We present deep BVrI multicolor photometry in the field of the quasar BR1202-07 (z_{em}=4.694) aimed at selecting field galaxies at z>4. We compare the observed colors of the galaxies in the field with those predicted by spectral synthesis…

Large-scale surveys over the last years have revealed about 300 QSOs at redshift above 6. Follow-up observations identified surprising properties, such as the very high black hole (BH) masses, spatial correlations with surrounding cold gas…

We present the results of a systematic search for galaxies in the redshift range z = 6 - 9, within the new, deep, near-infrared imaging of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field provided by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on HST. We have performed full…

To measure the mass of foreground objects with weak gravitational lensing, one needs to estimate the redshift distribution of lensed background sources. This is commonly done in an empirical fashion, i.e. with a reference sample of galaxies…

The Planck satellite has detected cluster candidates via the Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, but the optical follow-up required to confirm these candidates is still incomplete, especially at high redshifts and for SZ detections at low…

We search for high redshift ($z\sim$1-2) galaxy clusters using low luminosity radio galaxies (FR~I) as beacons and our newly developed Poisson Probability Method (PPM) based on photometric redshift information and galaxy number counts. We…

We present the results from a survey of i-dropout objects selected from ~1550 deg^2 of multicolor imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to search for luminous quasars at z>5.8. Objects with i*-z*>2.2 and z*<20.2 are selected, and…

Luminous quasars at z>5.6 can be studied in detail with the current generation of telescopes and provide us with unique information on the first gigayear of the universe. Thus far these studies have been statistically limited by the number…

Quasars, the brightly glowing disks of material that can form around the super-massive black holes at the centres of large galaxies, are amongst the most luminous astronomical objects known and so can be seen at great distances. The most…