Related papers: Decoding quasars: gravitationally redshifted spect…
Rich complexes of associated absorption lines (AALs) in quasar spectra provide unique information about gaseous infall, outflows, and feedback processes in quasar environments. We study five quasars at redshifts 3.1 to 4.4 with AAL…
The uncertain origin of the recently-discovered `changing-looking' quasar phenomenon -- in which a luminous quasar dims significantly to a quiescent state in repeat spectroscopy over ~10 year timescales -- may present unexpected challenges…
Much effort has been done in order to better understand the active galactic nuclei mechanisms behind the relativistic jets observed in radio-loud sources. These phenomena are commonly seen in luminous objects with intermediate/high redshift…
Absorption signatures in the spectra of QSOs are one of our most powerful tools for studying galactic and intergalactic environments at high redshifts. With the discovery of QSOs out to z > 7, QSO absorption lines are now tracing the end…
Studies of the formation and early history of galaxies have been hampered by the difficulties inherent in detecting faint galaxy populations at high redshift. As a consequence, observations at the highest redshifts (3.5 < z < 5) have been…
We present a new catalog of absprption-line systems identified in the quasar spectra. It contains data on 821 QSOs and 8558 absorption systems comprizing 16139 absorption lines with measured redshifts in the QSO spectra. The catalog…
The forest of Lyman-alpha absorption lines seen in the spectra of distant quasars has become an important probe of the distribution of matter in the Universe. We use large, hydrodynamical simulations from the OWLS project to investigate the…
Broad absorption line (BAL) quasars are characterized by gas clouds that absorb flux at the wavelength of common quasar spectral features, although blueshifted by velocities that can exceed 0.1c. BAL features are interesting as signatures…
We measure the large-scale cross-correlation of quasars with the Lyman \alpha\ forest absorption in redshift space, using ~ 60000 quasar spectra from Data Release 9 (DR9) of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). The…
We review recent results on quasars from the SDSS as they relate to our understanding of the UV/optical continuum, the broad emission line region, and the broad absorption line region. The ensemble average colors of large numbers of quasars…
Recent XRISM observations of active galactic nuclei such as PDS 456 have revealed ``forests'' of absorption lines best modeled by five distinct absorption zones with varying large blueshifts. We propose a model in which these relativistic…
A key to understanding quasar unification paradigms is the emission properties of broad absorption line quasars (BALQs). The fact that only a small fraction of quasar spectra exhibit deep absorption troughs blueward of the broad permitted…
We have searched in the XMM-Newton public archive for quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) First Data Release (DR1), and found 55 lying in the field of a XMM-Newton observation with exposure times >20 ksec (as of August, 2004).…
A blazar is believed to exist in every radio-loud quasar. This is expected in a unified scheme where the differences in both optical and radio observations of radio-loud quasars are the result of different viewing angles. We have predicted…
High velocity outflows from quasars are revealed by the absorption signatures they produce in the spectrum of the quasar. Clues on the nature and origin of these flows are important for our understanding of the dynamics of gas in the…
Absorption between the rest-frame wavelengths of 973 and 1026 Angstroms in quasar spectra arises from two sources (apart from occasional metals): one is due to Lyman-alpha (Lya) absorption by materials at a low redshift, and the other from…
Black-hole masses are crucial to understanding the physics of the connection between quasars and their host galaxies and measuring cosmic black hole-growth. At high redshift, z > 2.1, black hole masses are normally derived using the…
In active galactic nuclei, jet-driven feedback plays a significant role in influencing the properties of gas within their host galaxy and the circumgalactic medium. By combining observations from the Very Large Array Sky Survey, the Faint…
X-ray absorption of high-redshift quasars is enigmatic, because it remains unclear where in the universe the absorbing gas is. If absorption occurs near the high-z host, it could help us understand early stages of galaxy formation. If it is…
The low-redshift evolution of the intergalactic medium is investigated using hydrodynamic cosmological simulations. The assumed cosmological model is a critical density cold dark matter universe. The imposed uniform background of ionizing…