Related papers: Spikey: Self-Lensing Flares from Eccentric SMBH Bi…

We present new observations of the cataclysmic variable V523 Lyr, a member of the open cluster NGC 6791. The Kepler Space telescope obtained photometric observations of this source and we examine the nearly 3 year long light curve. The…

With 16-month Kepler data, 14 long-period (40 d - 265 d) eclipsing binaries on highly eccentric orbits (minimum e between 0.5 and 0.85) are recognized from their closely separated primary and secondary eclipses (\Delta t_I,II = 3 d - 10 d).…

We present an extension of the BEER model for eccentric binaries - eBEER, approximating the BEaming, Ellipsoidal and Reflection effects by harmonic series of the Keplerian elements of their orbit. As such, it can be a tool for fast…

We report the results of a diffraction-limited, photometric variability study of the central 5"x5" of the Galaxy conducted over the past 10 years using speckle imaging techniques on the W. M. Keck I 10 m telescope. Within our limiting…

We investigate the inspiral of a high mass-ratio black hole binary located in the nucleus of a galaxy, where the primary central black hole is surrounded by a dense dark matter spike formed through accretion during the black hole growth…

The narrow-line quasar PHL 1092 was observed by XMM-Newton at two epochs separated by nearly thirty months. Timing analyses confirm the extreme variability observed during previous X-ray missions. A measurement of the radiative efficiency…

In this work, we study how to infer the orbit of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) by time-dependent measurements with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), such as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Assuming a point-like…

A compact binary in an eccentric orbit radiates gravitational waves (GWs) at all integer harmonics of its orbital frequency. In this study, we investigate the effect of orbital eccentricity on the expected gravitational background radiation…

We present high resolution spectra of the AM CVn helium binary GP Com at two different wavelength ranges. The spectra show the same flaring behaviour observed in previous UV and optical data. We find that the central spike contributes to…

Self-lensing (SL) represents a powerful technique for detecting compact objects in binary systems through gravitational microlensing effects, when a compact companion transits in front of its luminous partner. We present the first…

It is accepted that quasars are powered by supermassive black holes (SMBH) with masses in the range 10^6 - 10^9 solar masses in their cores. Occasionally, compact stars can plunge into SMBH. In addition, there may be a number of such…

Precise measurements of black hole (BHs) masses are necessary to understand the coevolution of these sources and their host galaxies. Sometimes in the center of a galaxy there is not one, but two BHs. The BH duality of the quasar nucleus…

Ultra-luminous quasars ($M_{1450} \leq -29$) provide us with a rare view into the nature of the most massive and most rapidly accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Following the discovery of two of these extreme sources,…

Stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) may merge in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). It is suggested that the gravitational-wave (GW) emitted by a BBH has a high probability to be lensed by the SMBH if the BBH's orbit…

High-resolution near infrared observations with GRAVITY instrument have revealed rapid orbital motions of a hot spot around Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in our Galactic center, during its three bright flares. The projected distances…

In several previous studies, quasars exhibiting broad emission lines with >1000 km/s velocity offsets with respect to the host galaxy rest frame have been discovered. One leading hypothesis for the origin of these velocity-offset broad…

Pulsar-black hole (BH) close binary systems, which have not been found yet, are unique laboratories for testing theories of gravity and understanding the formation channels of gravitational-wave sources. We study the self-gravitational…

The electromagnetic signature of a point explosion near a Kerr black hole (BH) is evaluated. The first repetitions produced by gravitational lensing are not periodic in time; periodicity emerges only as the result of multiple circuits of…

Binary black holes have been in limelight off late due to the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries in the events GW150914 and GW151226. In this paper we study gravitational lensing by the binary black holes…

As part of an All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) search for sources with large flux decrements, we discovered a transient where the quiescent, stellar source, ASASSN-V J192114.84+624950.8, rapidly decreased in flux by…