Related papers: Probing the Cosmic Dark Age in X-rays
We present NuSTAR hard X-ray (3-79 keV) observations of three Type 2 quasars at z ~ 0.4-0.5, optically selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Although the quasars show evidence for being heavily obscured Compton-thick systems on…
Luminous quasars at z>5.6 can be studied in detail with the current generation of telescopes and provide us with unique information on the first gigayear of the universe. Thus far these studies have been statistically limited by the number…
We briefly review some recent results from Chandra and XMM-Newton studies of the highest redshift (z > 4) active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Specific topics covered include radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars, moderate-luminosity AGNs in…
We present the results of a pilot survey to find dust-reddened quasars by matching the FIRST radio catalog to the UKIDSS near-infrared survey, and using optical data from SDSS to select objects with very red colors. The deep K-band limit…
Bright quasar samples at high redshift are useful for investigating active galactic nuclei evolution. In this study, we describe XQz5, a sample of 83 ultraluminous quasars in the redshift range $4.5 < z < 5.3$ with optical and near-infrared…
Current X-ray observations and simulations show that gravitational lensing can be used to infer the structure near the event horizons of black holes, constrain the dynamics and evolution of black-hole accretion and outflows, test general…
The cosmological model is at present not tested between the redshift of the farthest observed supernovae (z ~ 1.4) and that of the Cosmic Microwave Background (z ~ 1,100). Here we introduce a new method to measure the cosmological…
Future surveys of large-scale structure will be able to measure perturbations on the scale of the cosmological horizon, and so could potentially probe a number of novel relativistic effects that are negligibly small on sub-horizon scales.…
High-redshift quasars are currently the only probes of the growth of supermassive black holes and potential tracers of structure evolution at early cosmic time. Here we present our candidate selection criteria from the Panoramic Survey…
The properties of the first generation of black-hole seeds trace and distinguish different models of formation of cosmic structure in the high-redshift universe. The observational challenge lies in identifying black holes in the mass range…
High-redshift clusters of galaxies are amongst the largest cosmic structures. Their properties and evolution are key ingredients to our understanding of cosmology: to study the growth of structure from the inhomogeneities of the cosmic…
If gamma-ray bursts originate in dense stellar forming regions, the interstellar material can imprint detectable absorption features on the observed X-ray spectrum. Such features can be detected by existing and planned X-ray satellites, as…
We analyze the impact of future hard X-ray observations on the search for indirect signatures of particle dark matter in large extragalactic systems such as nearby clusters or groups of galaxies. We argue that the hard X-ray energy band…
High-redshift quasars have been an excellent tracer to study the astrophysics and cosmology at early Universe. Using 577 spectroscopically confirmed high-redshift quasars and 1,796 highly reliable photometric quasar candidates (all with…
Measuring the density of the intergalactic medium using quasar sightlines in the epoch of reionization is challenging due to the saturation of Lyman-$\alpha$ absorption. Near a luminous quasar, however, the enhanced radiation creates a…
We consider the capabilities for detecting low order CO emission lines from high-z galaxies using the next generation of radio telescopes operating at 22 and 43 GHz. We employ models for the evolution of dusty star forming galaxies based on…
The highest-redshift quasars are still rare and valuable objects for observational astrophysics and cosmology. They provide important constraints on the growth of the earliest supermassive black holes in the Universe, and information on the…
We explore the possibility of detecting the first galaxies with the next generation of space-based far infrared (FIR) telescopes by applying an analytical model of primordial dust emission. Our results indicate that FIR/sub-mm sources at $z…
The advent of new deep+wide photometric lensing surveys will open up the possibility of direct measurements of the dark matter halos of dwarf galaxies. The HSC wide survey will be the first with the statistical capability of measuring the…
The launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory in July 1999 opened a new era in X-ray astronomy. Its unprecedented, <0.5" spatial resolution and low background are providing views of the X-ray sky 10-100 times fainter than previously possible.…