Related papers: Newly discovered $z\sim5$ quasars based on deep le…
We investigated a sample of 15 luminous high-redshift quasars (3.3 < z < 5.1) to measure the mass of their super-massive black holes (SMBH) and compare, for the first time, results based on CIV, MgII, and Hbeta emission lines at…
We present and analyse the deepest, high-quality Ks-band images ever obtained of luminous quasars at z~4, in an attempt to determine the basic properties of their host galaxies less than 1 Gyr after the first recorded appearance of black…
We present the discovery of five new quasars at z>5.7, selected from the multicolor imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Three of them, at redshifts 5.93, 6.07, and 6.22, were selected from ~1700 deg^2 of new SDSS Main…
Galaxy mergers occur frequently in the early universe and bring multiple supermassive black holes (SMBHs) into the nucleus, where they may eventually coalesce. Identifying post-merger-scale (i.e., <~a few kpc) dual SMBHs is a critical…
Periodically variable quasars have been suggested as close binary supermassive black holes. We present a systematic search for periodic light curves in 625 spectroscopically confirmed quasars with a median redshift of 1.8 in a 4.6 deg$^2$…
We assemble a catalogue of 488 spectroscopically confirmed very high ($z\geq5.00$) redshift quasars and report their near- ($ZYJHK_{s}/K$) and mid- (WISE W1234) infrared properties. 97\% of the VH$z$Q sample is detected in one or more NIR…
We present discovery imaging and spectroscopy for nine new z ~ 6 quasars found in the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS) bringing the total number of CFHQS quasars to 19. By combining the CFHQS with the more luminous SDSS sample we…
We report the discovery of two quasars at a redshift of $z$ = 6.05, in the process of merging. They were serendipitously discovered from the deep multi-band imaging data collected by the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program…
Dual quasars are precursors of binary supermassive black holes, which are important objects for gravitational wave study, galaxy evolution, and cosmology. I report four double quasars, one of which is newly discovered, with separations of…
I review the current understanding of some key properties of the earliest growing supermassive black holes (SMBHs), as determined from the most up-to-date observations of z>=5 quasars. This includes their accretion rates and growth history,…
Luminous high-redshift quasars can be used to probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the early universe because their UV light is absorbed by the neutral hydrogen along the line of sight. They help us to measure the neutral hydrogen…
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has obtained images in five broad-band colors for several hundred square degrees. We present color-color diagrams for stellar objects, and demonstrate that quasars are easily distinguished from stars by their…
We present the initial results from our search for high redshift, z > 6, quasars using near infrared data from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS). Our analysis of 106 deg^2 of sky from Data Release 1 (DR1)…
We present a method of selecting quasars up to redshift $\approx$ 6 with random forests, a supervised machine learning method, applied to Pan-STARRS1 and WISE data. We find that, thanks to the increasing set of known quasars we can assemble…
State-of-the-art models of massive black hole formation postulate that quasars at $z>6$ reside in extreme peaks of the cosmic density structure in the early universe. Even so, direct observational evidence of these overdensities is elusive,…
It remains debatable how billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form and evolve within the first billion years. We report results from a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU) survey of 27 luminous…
The Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS) is an optical survey designed to locate quasars during the epoch of reionization. In this paper we present the discovery of the first four CFHQS quasars at redshift greater than 6, including…
We present a machine learning search for high-redshift ($5.0 < z < 6.5$) quasars using the combined photometric data from the DESI Imaging Legacy Surveys and the WISE survey. We explore the imputation of missing values for high-redshift…
We present results of a new, large survey for high-redshift radio-loud quasars, which targets quasars with z>4. The survey is based on the PMN and NVSS radio surveys, optically identified using digitised UKST B, R and I plates. Six new z>4…
We study the demographics of z ~ 6 broad-line quasars in the black hole (BH) mass-luminosity plane using a sample of more than 100 quasars at 5.7 < z < 6.5. These quasars have well quantified selection functions and nearly one third of them…