Related papers: Using the 2dF galaxy redshift survey to detect gra…

Strongly lensed quasars with time-delay measurements are well known to provide the "time-delay distances" $D_{\Delta t}=(1+z_L)D_LD_S/D_{LS}$ and the angular diameter distances to lens galaxies $D_L$. These two kinds of distances give…

We present the first automated spectroscopic search for disk-galaxy lenses, using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database. We follow up eight gravitational lens candidates, selected among a sample of ~40000 candidate massive disk galaxies,…

The 6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS) is a spectroscopic survey of the entire southern sky with $|b|>10\deg$, based on the 2MASS near infrared galaxy catalog. It is conducted with the 6dF multi-fiber spectrograph attached to the 1.2-m UK Schmidt…

The redshift distribution of galaxy lenses in known gravitational lens systems provides a powerful test that can potentially discriminate amongst cosmological models. However, applications of this elegant test have been curtailed by two…

We describe an automated method for detecting clusters of galaxies in imaging and redshift galaxy surveys. The Adaptive Matched Filter (AMF) method utilizes galaxy positions, magnitudes, and---when available---photometric or spectroscopic…

Strong gravitationally lensed quasars provide powerful means to study galaxy evolution and cosmology. Current and upcoming imaging surveys will contain thousands of new lensed quasars, augmenting the existing sample by at least two orders…

We present a spectroscopic survey of almost 15,000 candidate intermediate-redshift Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) brighter than i=19.8, observed with 2dF on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The targets were selected photometrically from the…

To use strong gravitational lenses as an astrophysical or cosmological probe, models of their mass distributions are often needed. We present a new, time-efficient automation code for uniform modeling of strongly lensed quasars with GLEE, a…

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey will measure spectroscopic redshifts for millions of galaxies across roughly $14,000 \, \mathrm{deg}^2$ of the sky. Cross-correlating targets in the DESI survey with complementary…

The Planck Surveyor cosmic microwave background (CMB) imaging mission will make very sensitive maps of the whole sky at microwave, millimetre (mm) and sub-mm wavelengths. The steep source counts expected in the highest frequency Planck…

We present the discovery and preliminary characterization of a gravitationally lensed quasar with a source redshift $z_{s}=2.74$ and image separation of $2.9"$ lensed by a foreground $z_{l}=0.40$ elliptical galaxy. Since the images of…

We propose a new technique, which we call the lens parallax method, to determine simultaneously the redshift distribution of the faint blue galaxies and the mass distributions of foreground clusters of galaxies. The method is based on…

Most of optical gravitational lenses recently discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search (SQLS) have two-images rather than four-images, in marked contrast to radio lenses for which the fraction of four-image lenses (quad…

Since the late 1970's, redshift surveys have been vital for progress in understanding large-scale structure in the Universe. The original CfA redshift survey collected spectra of 20-30 galaxies per clear night on a 1.5 meter telescope; over…

We present an empirical algorithm for obtaining photometric redshifts of quasars using 5-band Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry. Our algorithm generates an empirical model of the quasar color-redshift relation, compares the colors…

The non-Euclidean geometry of spacetime induces an anisotropy in the apparent correlation function of high-redshift quasars. This effect can constrain the cosmological constant \Lambda independent of any assumptions about evolution of…

The 6dF Galaxy Survey is measuring around 150000 redshifts and 15000 peculiar velocities from galaxies over the southern sky at |b|>10 degrees. When complete, it will be the largest survey of its kind by more than an order of magnitude.…

The time delay between multiple images of strongly lensed quasars is a powerful tool for measuring the Hubble constant (H0). To achieve H0 measurements with higher precision and accuracy using the time delay, it is crucial to expand the…

Tests of gravity on large-scales in the universe can be made using both imaging and spectroscopic surveys. The former allow for measurements of weak lensing, galaxy clustering and cross-correlations such as the ISW effect. The latter probe…

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…