Related papers: Probing compact dark matter objects with microlens…
The aim of this paper is to investigate the claim that stars in the lensing galaxy of a gravitationally lensed quasar system can always account for the observed microlensing of the individual quasar images. A small sample of gravitationally…
In this paper we show that to explain the observed distribution of amplitudes in a large sample of quasar lightcurves, a significant contribution from microlensing is required. This implies the existence of a cosmologically distributed…
Microlensing studies of quasars can reveal dark matter lumps over a broad mass spectrum; we highlight the importance of monitoring quasars which are seen through the halos of low-redshift galaxies. For these configurations microlensing by…
We estimate the fraction of mass that is composed of compact objects in gravitational lens galaxies. This study is based on microlensing measurements (obtained from the literature) of a sample of 29 quasar image pairs seen through 20 lens…
Flux ratios of multiple images in strong gravitational lensing systems provide a powerful probe of dark matter substructure. Optical flux ratios of lensed quasars are typically affected by stellar microlensing, and thus studies of dark…
Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool to probe the inner structure of strongly lensed quasars and to constrain parameters of the stellar mass function of lens galaxies. This is done by analysing microlensing light curves between the…
Variability in gravitationally lensed quasars can be due to intrinsic fluctuations of the quasar or due to ``microlensing'' by compact objects along the line of sight. If disentangled from each other, microlens-induced variability can be…
Optical and X-ray observations of strongly gravitationally lensed quasars (especially when four separate images of the quasar are produced) determine not only the amount of matter in the lensing galaxy but also how much is in a smooth…
We present an analysis of seven strongly gravitationally lensed quasars and the corresponding constraints on the properties of dark matter. Our results are derived by modelling the lensed image positions and flux-ratios using a combination…
We show how observations of multiply-imaged quasars at high redshift can be used as a probe of dark matter clumps (subhalos with masses ~ 10^9 solar masses) within the virialized extent of more massive lensing halos. A large abundance of…
Quasar microlensing can be used to constrain important astrophysical properties, such as the accretion disk size and the amount of stars in the lensing galaxy. The associated brightness variations over time, in particular high magnification…
The idea that dark matter in the form of small compact bodies (most plausibly planetary mass primordial black holes) betrays its presence by the microlensing of quasars, has been stimulated by statistical studies of quasar light curves and…
One of the possible explanations for dark matter is that of compact dark objects of baryonic origin, such as black holes or even planets. Accumulating evidence, including the discovery of merging stellar mass black holes through…
Gravitationally lensed quasars have served as a powerful tool for studying the composition of dark matter (DM) in lensing galaxies. In this work, we propose a novel method to investigate stellar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) by using…
Strong gravitational lensing of quasars has the potential to unlock the poorly understood physics of these fascinating objects, as well as serve as a probe of the lensing mass distribution and of cosmological parameters. In particular,…
This paper presents an investigation into the gravitational microlensing of quasars by stars and stellar remnants in the Milky Way. We present predictions for the all-sky microlensing optical depth, time-scale distributions and event rates…
Although controversial, the scenario of microlensing as the dominant mechanism for the long-term optical variability of quasars does provide a natural explanation for both the statistical symmetry, achromaticity and lack of cosmological…
Quasar microlensing is both a very useful tool in cosmology and astrophysics, and a source of uncertainty in some studies like the determination of the Hubble constant from lensed quasars. Microlensing probability and time-scales have been…
We study the time variation of the apparent flux of cosmological point sources due to the transient weak lensing by dark matter microhaloes. Assuming a transverse motion of microhaloes with respect to our line of sight, we derive the…
Strongly lensed systems with peculiar configurations allow us to probe the local properties of the deflecting lens mass while simultaneously testing general profile assumptions. The quasar HE0230$-$2130 is lensed by two galaxies at similar…