Related papers: LBQS 0103-2753: A Binary Quasar in a Major Merger
Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHs) are a fascinating byproduct of galaxy mergers in the hierarchical universe. In the last stage of their orbital evolution, gravitational wave radiation drives the binary inspiral and produces the…
We analyze the optical spectrum of type 1 QSO SDSS J1425+3231. This ob- ject is interesting since its narrow emission lines such as [O III]{\lambda}{\lambda}4959, 5007 are double- peaked, and the line structure can be modeled well by three…
Galaxy mergers produce pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which may be witnessed as dual quasars if both SMBHs are rapidly accreting. The kiloparsec (kpc)-scale separation represents a physical regime sufficiently close for…
Quasars at early redshifts ($z > 6$) with companion galaxies offer unique insights into the growth and evolution of the first supermassive black holes. Here, we report on a 150 ks Chandra observation of PSO J308.0416$-$21.2339, a $z=6.23$…
The most luminous quasars are created by major, gas-rich mergers and E1821+643, an optically luminous quasar situated at the center of a cool-core cluster, appears to be in the late stages of the post-merger blowout phase. This quasar is…
Quasar pairs are either physically distinct binary quasars or the result of gravitational lensing. The majority of known pairs are in fact lenses, with a few confirmed as binaries, leaving a population of objects that have not yet been…
We present Hubble ACS images of thirteen dust reddened Type-1 quasars selected from the FIRST/2MASS Red Quasar Survey. These quasars have high intrinsic luminosities after correction for dust obscuration (-23.5 > M_B > -26.2 from…
We report the detection of the CO J=1-0 emission line in [H89]1821+643, one of the most optically luminous QSOs in the local Universe and a template ULIRG-to-QSO transition object, located in a rich cool-core cluster at z=0.297. The CO…
Serendipitous observations of a pair z = 0.37 interacting galaxies (one hosting a quasar) show a massive gaseous bridge of material connecting the two objects. This bridge is photoionized by the quasar (QSO) revealing gas along the entire…
We report the serendipitous discoveries of companion galaxies to two high-redshift quasars. SDSS J025617.7+001904 is a z=4.79 quasar included in our recent survey of faint quasars in the SDSS Stripe 82 region. The initial MMT slit…
We present the kinematic properties of a type-2 QSO, SDSS J132323.33-015941.9 at z~0.35, based on the analysis of Very Large Telescope integral field spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, which suggest that the target is a…
Very deep ESO/VLT FORS1 and ISAAC images, as well as HST NICMOS2 data are used to infer the nature of the quasar pair LBQS 1429-0053 A and B, either a binary quasar or a doubly-imaged lensed quasar. Direct search of a putative lensing…
Observations with the PC2 CCD of the Hubble Space Telescope are described of two bright QSOs of redshift ~0.3. 1403+434 is IR-bright and radio-quiet, and 2201+315 is radio-loud with extended structure. Exposures were taken with the F702W…
We report on the detection of a z_gal=0.101 galaxy projected on the sky at 4.2 arcsec (or 5.2 h^{-1} kpc for q_o=0.5) from the quasar Q 0439-433 (z_em=0.594). The HST spectrum of the quasar shows strong MgII, FeII, SiII, AlII and CIV…
As a natural consequence of galaxy mergers, binary active galactic nuclei (AGNs) should be commonplace. Nevertheless, observational confirmations are rare, especially for binaries with separations less than ten kpc. Such a system may show…
We present a deep X-Shooter rest-frame UV to optical spectral analysis of the heavily reddened quasar, ULASJ2315+043 at z=2.566, known to reside in a major-merger host galaxy. The rest-frame optical is best-fit by a dust-reddened quasar…
We report the discovery of a candidate dual QSO at z=1.889, a redshift that is in the era known as "cosmic noon" where most of the Universe's black hole and stellar mass growth occurred. The source was identified in Hubble Space Telescope…
HE 0141-3932 (zem = 1.80) is a bright blue radio-quite quasar with an unusually weak Ly-alpha emission line. Large redshift differences (Delta z = 0.05) are observed between high ionization and low ionization emission lines. Absorption…
Extremely red quasars, with bolometric luminosities exceeding $10^{47}$ erg s$^{-1}$, are a fascinating high-redshift population that is absent in the local universe. They are the best candidates for supermassive black holes accreting at…
We report the discovery of a new gravitational lens candidate Q2138-431AB, comprising two quasar images at a redshift of 1.641 separated by 4.5 arcsecs. The spectra of the two images are very similar, and the redshifts agree to better than…