Related papers: LBQS 0103-2753: A Binary Quasar in a Major Merger

We study observational signatures of the hadron-quark crossover in binary-neutron-star mergers by numerical-relativity simulations with various mass configurations. We employ two equations of state (EoSs) for matter consistent with…

In May 2023, the LIGO Livingston observatory detected the likely black hole-neutron star (BHNS) merger GW230529_181500. That event is expected to be the merger of a 2.5-4.5 $M_{\odot}$ primary with a secondary compact object of mass between…

SDSS J092712.65+294344.0 has been proposed as a candidate for a supermassive black hole (~10^8.8 solar masses) ejected at high speed from the host galactic nucleus by gravitational radiation recoil, or alternatively for a supermassive black…

We have obtained follow-up observations of the quasar pair LBQS 0107-025A,B and new observations of the nearby quasar LBQS 0107-0232 with the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Spectrograph. Extended wavelength coverage of LBQS 0107-025A…

With about a hundred mergers of binary black holes (BBHs) detected via gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) Collaboration, our understanding of the darkest objects in the Universe has taken unparalleled steps forward. While…

We report the discovery of a quasar close to SDSS J0927+2943 (z = 0.713), which is a massive binary / recoiling black hole candidate. The companion quasar is at a projected distance of 125 h_70^{-1} kpc and exhibits a radial velocity…

Galaxy pairs with separations of only a few kpc represent important stages in the merger-driven growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, such mergers are difficult to identify observationally due to the correspondingly small…

We study mass loss from the outer Lagrange point (L2) in binary stellar mergers and their luminous transients by means of radiative hydrodynamical simulations. Previously, we showed that for binary mass ratios 0.06 < q < 0.8, synchronous L2…

We report the discovery of a binary galaxy cluster merger via a search of the redMaPPer optical cluster catalog, with a projected separation of 535 kpc between the BCGs. Archival XMM-Newton spectro-imaging reveals a gas peak between the…

We report on a spectroscopic program to search for dual quasars using Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) images of SDSS quasars which represent an important stage during galaxy mergers. Using Subaru/FOCAS and Gemini-N/GMOS, we identify three…

This manuscript investigates the possible existence of a binary supermassive black holes (BSMBH) system in the blue quasar SDSS J100438.8+151056 (=SDSS J1004+1510) at z=0.219 based on the detection of robust optical QPOs. We determine QPOs…

The quasar SDSS J153636.22+044127.0, exhibiting peculiar broad emission-line profiles with multiple components, was proposed as a candidate sub-parsec binary supermassive black hole system. More recently, imaging revealed two spatially…

We present UBRI photometry and spectra for 60 quasars found within one square degree centered on the J0053+1234 region, which has been the subject of the Caltech Faint Galaxy Redshift Survey. Candidate quasars were selected by their…

Using long-slit optical spectra obtained with the 2-m telescope at IUCAA Girawali Observatory, we show that the radio source J094221.98+062335.2 (z=0.123) is associated with a galaxy pair undergoing a major merger. Its companion is a normal…

We report the discovery of unusual broad absorption lines (BALs) in the bright quasar SDSS J075133.35+134548.3 at z~1, and present a detailed study of BAL and emission lines using the archived and newly obtained optical and NIR…

We provide more evidence of not quite black holes at LIGO. We update and streamline our previous search strategy and apply it to the ten black hole merger events and the one neutron star merger event. The strategy is aimed at the evenly…

We present an analysis of infrared/optical/ultraviolet spectra of the two images of the first gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561A, B. The Hubble Space Telescope observations of Q0957+561A and Q0957+561B are separated in time by the…

We present an imaging study of the black hole binary candidate SDSS J1536+0441 (z=0.3893), based on deep, high resolution VzK images collected at the ESO/VLT. The images clearly show an asymmetric elongation, indicating the presence of a…

We present the detection of a low surface-brightness stellar counterpart to an enormous (190 kpc) ring of neutral hydrogen (HI) gas that surrounds the nearby radio galaxy B2 0648+27. This system is currently in an evolutionary stage between…

We report the results of an optical spectroscopic follow-up of four double quasar candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database. SDSS J1617+3827 is most likely a lensed quasar at z = 2.079, consisting of two images with r ~…