Related papers: Can reverberation-measured quasars be used for cos…
Recently, two classes of quasar samples were identified, which are promising as new cosmological probes extending to higher redshifts. The first sample uses the nonlinear relation between the ultraviolet and X-ray luminosities of quasars to…
Quasars show considerable promise as standard candles in a high-redshift window beyond Type Ia supernovae. Recently, Risaliti, Lusso \& collaborators \cite{Risaliti:2018reu, Lusso:2019akb, Lusso:2020pdb} have succeeded in producing a high…
Reverberation mapping (RM) is a widely-used method for probing the physics of broad-line regions (BLRs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). There are increasing preliminary evidences that the RM behaviors of broad emission lines are…
Tension between cosmic microwave background-based and distance ladder-based determinations of the Hubble constant ${\rm H}_{\rm 0}$ motivates pursuit of independent methods that are not subject to the same systematic effects. A promising…
In this paper, we present a model-independent approach to calibrate the largest quasar sample. Calibrating quasar samples is essentially constraining the parameters of the linear relation between the $\log$ of the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray…
(Abridged) Several phenomena in astrophysics generate light curves with time delays. Among these are reverberation mapping, and lensed quasars. In some systems, the measurement of the time-delay is complicated by the fact that the delayed…
We present a new catalogue of ~2,400 optically selected quasars with spectroscopic redshifts and X-ray observations from either Chandra or XMM-Newton. The sample can be used to investigate the non-linear relation between the UV and X-ray…
High-precision cosmological probes have revealed a small but significant tension between the parameters measured with different techniques, among which there is one based on time delays in gravitational lenses. We discuss a new way of using…
Measurements of weak gravitational lensing using the cosmic microwave background and the shapes of galaxies have refined our understanding of the late-time history of the Universe. While optical surveys have been the primary source for…
The determination of the Hubble parameter H_0 is probably one of the most important applications of quasar lensing. The method, based on the measurement of the so-called ``time-delay'' between the lensed images of distant sources, e.g.,…
Fast Radio bursts (FRBs), bright transients with millisecond durations at $\sim$ GHz and typical redshifts probably $>0.8$, are likely to be gravitationally lensed by intervening galaxies. Since the time delay between images of strongly…
The use of time-delay gravitational lenses to examine the cosmological expansion introduces a new standard ruler with which to test theoretical models. The sample suitable for this kind of work now includes 12 lens systems, which have thus…
We present Reverberation Mapping (RM) results for 17 high-redshift, high-luminosity quasars with good quality R-band and emission line light curves. We are able to measure statistically significant lags for Ly_alpha (11 objects), SiIV (5…
Time-delay cosmography can be used to infer the Hubble parameter $H_0$ by measuring the relative time delays between multiple images of gravitationally-lensed quasars. A few of such systems have already been used to measure $H_0$: their…
Our group has developed a technique that makes use of the observed non-linear relation between the ultraviolet and the X-ray luminosity in quasars to provide an independent measurement of their distances, thus turning quasars into…
Reverberation mapping (RM) is one of the most efficient ways to investigate the broad-line region around the central supermassive black holes of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). A common way of performing the RM is to perform a long term…
Time-delay cosmography in strongly lensed quasars offer an independent way of measuring the Hubble constant, $H_0$. However, it has been proposed that the combination of microlensing and source-size effects, also known as microlensing time…
(abridged) Gravitationally lensed quasars can be used as powerful cosmological and astrophysical probes. We can (i) infer the Hubble constant based on the time-delay technique, (ii) unveil substructures along the l.o.s. toward distant…
Quasars (QSOs) are extremely luminous active galatic nuclei currently observed up to redshift $z=7.642$. As such, they have the potential to be the next rung of the cosmic distance ladder beyond SNe Ia, if they can reliably be used as…
Reverberation mapping (RM) is an important technique in studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The key idea of RM is to measure the time lag $\tau$ between variations in the continuum emission from the accretion disc and subsequent…