Related papers: Beasts in Lambda-CDM Zoo
Abundance matching between galaxies and halos has proven to be an informative technique, less dependent on detailed physical approximations than some other methods. We extend the discussion to the dwarf galaxies realm and to the study of…
The discovery of luminous quasars at redshifts up to 7.5 demonstrates the existence of several billion M_sun supermassive black holes (SMBHs) less than a billion years after the Big Bang. They are accompanied by intense star formation in…
We consider black hole - galaxy coevolution using simple analytic arguments. We focus on the fact that several supermassive black holes are known with masses significantly larger than suggested by the $M - {\sigma}$ relation, sometimes also…
Recent optical observations have led to a significant progress in our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. However, our view on the deep universe is currently limited to the starlight which directly escapes from high-redshift…
Due to their extreme luminosities, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be detected in hostile regions of galaxies, nearby and at very high redshift, making them important cosmological probes. The investigation of galaxies hosting long-duration GRBs…
Dusty galaxies with luminosities in excess of 10^11 solar luminosities have been detected out to redshifts of about unity by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), and to higher redshifts using millimetre(mm)- and submm-wave cameras on…
The aim of this thesis is to question some of the basic assumptions that go into building the $\Lambda$CDM model of our universe. The assumptions we focus on are the initial conditions of the universe, the fundamental forces in the universe…
Quasars at high redshift provide direct information on the mass growth of supermassive black holes and, in turn, yield important clues about how the Universe evolved since the first (Pop III) stars started forming. Yet even basic questions…
We have obtained deep, multi-band imaging observations around three of the most distant known quasars at redshifts z>6. Standard accretion theory predicts that the supermassive black holes present in these quasars were formed at a very…
Recent discoveries of super-massive black holes at high redshifts indicate a possible tension with the standard Lambda CDM paradigm of early universe cosmology which has difficulties in explaining the origin of the required nonlinear…
The comparison of cosmic abundances of the light elements with the density of baryonic stars and gas in the universe today provides a critical test of big bang theory and a powerful probe of the nature of dark matter. A new technique allows…
Supermassive black holes underwent periods of exponential growth during which we seem them as quasars in the distant Universe. The summed emission from these quasars generates the cosmic X-ray background, the spectrum of which has been used…
We confront Cardassian models with recent observational data. These models can be viewed either as purely phenomenological modifications of the Friedmann equation, or as arising from cosmic fluids with non-standard properties. In the first…
The abundance of the most massive objects in the Universe at different epochs is a very sensitive probe of the cosmic background evolution and of the growth history of density perturbations, and could provide a powerful tool to distinguish…
Recent observations of Type 1a supernovae indicating an accelerating universe have once more drawn attention to the possible existence, at the present epoch, of a small positive Lambda-term (cosmological constant). In this paper we review…
The first star clusters and quasars resulted directly from the growth of linear density fluctuations in the early Universe. Since they emerged from a well-defined set of initial conditions, the interplay between observational data from the…
Recent observations by the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed massive galaxies at very high redshift ($z\simeq 7-15$). The question of whether the existence of such galaxies is expected in the corresponding JWST surveys has received a…
Quasars at cosmic dawn provide powerful probes of the formation and growth of the earliest supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the universe, their connections to galaxy and structure formation, and the evolution of the intergalactic medium…
Blind spectroscopy of massive lensing galaxy clusters with MUSE has revealed large numbers of gravitationally-lensed Lyman-$ \alpha $ emitters exhibiting asymmetric profiles at $ 2.9 \leq z \leq 6.7 $, suggesting abundant outflows from…
Quasars are the visible signatures of super-massive black holes in the centres of distant galaxies. It has been suggested that quasars are formed during ``major merger events'' when two massive galaxies collide and merge, leading to the…