Related papers: Extreme quasars as distance indicators in cosmolog…
We present an X-ray and multiwavelength study of 33 weak emission-line quasars (WLQs) and 18 quasars that are analogs of the extreme WLQ, PHL 1811, at z ~ 0.5-2.9. New Chandra 1.5-9.5 ks exploratory observations were obtained for 32 objects…
The extreme extragalactic sources known as Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULX) represent a unique testing environment for compact objects population studies and the accretion process. Their nature has long been disputed. Their luminosity,…
Quasar feedback is a key ingredient in shaping galaxy evolution. A rare population of extremely red quasars (ERQs) at $z=2-3$ are often associated with high-velocity [O III]$\lambda5008$ outflows and may represent sites of strong feedback.…
We report on Chandra observations of a sample of 11 optically luminous (Mb<-28.5) quasars at z=3.96-4.55 selected from the Palomar Digital Sky Survey and the Automatic Plate Measuring Facility Survey. These are among the most luminous z>4…
We use 62185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5 sample to explore the quasar mass-luminosity plane view of virial mass estimation. Previous work shows deviations of ~0.4 dex between virial and reverberation masses. The…
The transmission grating spectrometers on AXAF have sufficient sensitivity and energy resolution to detect resonance X-ray absorption lines in the spectra of distant quasars. Such lines would be produced in an ionized, and somewhat…
The Lyman-alpha emitters found at z=4.5 and 5.7 by the Large Area Lyman Alpha (LALA) survey have high equivalent widths in the Lyman-alpha line. Such lines can be produced by narrow-lined active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or by stellar…
Exceptionally bright quasars with redshifts up to z=6.28 have recently been discovered. Quasars are thought to be powered by the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Their maximum (Eddington) luminosity…
We have analyzed the {\it XMM-Newton} and {\it Chandra} data overlapping $\sim$16.5 deg$^2$ of Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82, including $\sim$4.6 deg$^2$ of proprietary {\it XMM-Newton} data that we present here. In total, 3362 unique…
General relativity reproduces main current cosmological observations, assuming the validity of cosmic distance duality relation (CDDR) at all scales and epochs. However, CDDR is poorly tested in the redshift interval between the farthest…
We introduce a phenomenological investigation of the evolution and large scale distribution of quasars using a modified version of the Field and Colgate gravitational contraction model for proto-galaxies. By studying the distribution of…
Given their extremely large distances and small apparent sizes, quasars are generally considered as objects with near-zero parallax and proper motion. However, some special quasars may have abnormal astrometric characteristics, such as…
We statistically study the physical properties of a sample of narrow absorption line (NAL) systems looking for empirical evidences to distinguish between intrinsic and intervening NALs without taking into account any a priori definition or…
We report the discovery of extended X-ray emission around the powerful high-redshift quasar GB 1508+5714 at z=4.3, revealed in a long Chandra ACIS observation. The emission feature is 3-4 arcsec away from the quasar core, which corresponds…
A search for water masers in 47 Sloan Digital Sky Survey Type 2 quasars using the Green Bank Telescope has yielded a detection at a redshift of z = 0.660. This maser is more than an order of magnitude higher in redshift than any previously…
Only a small fraction of galactic nuclei in the nearby universe are luminous; most of them are currently dim. We investigate the feasibility of constraining the X-ray luminosity in the recent past (up to ~10^6 years ago) of the nucleus of a…
Recent X-ray surveys have provided a large number of high-luminosity, obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the so-called Type 2 quasars. Despite the large amount of multi-wavelength supporting data, the main parameters related to the…
To understand the Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) phenomenon and their impact on the evolution of galaxies, a complete AGN census is required; however, finding heavily obscured AGNs is observationally challenging. Here we use the deep and…
Powered by supermassive black holes at their centers, quasars are among the most luminous objects in the Universe, serving as important probes of cosmic history and galaxy evolution. The size of the accretion disc surrounding the black hole…
Extreme Scattering Events are sometimes manifest in the light-curves of compact radio-quasars at frequencies of a few GHz. These events are not understood. The model which appears to offer the best explanation requires a new population of…