Related papers: The Multi-Band Magnification Bias for Gravitationa…
In Lyman-alpha forest measurements it is generally assumed that quasars are mere background light sources which are uncorrelated with the forest. Gravitational lensing of the quasars violates this assumption. This effect leads to a…
We use simple comparisons of the optical and radio properties of the wide separation (3'' to 10'') quasar pairs to demonstrate that they are binary quasars rather than gravitational lenses. The most likely model is that all the pairs are…
We introduce a technique to measure gravitational lensing magnification using the variability of type I quasars. Quasars' variability amplitudes and luminosities are tightly correlated, on average. Magnification due to gravitational lensing…
We use the first data release of the 2-degree Field Quasar survey to investigate the effect of gravitational magnification by foreground absorbing systems on background quasars. We select two populations of quasars from this sample: one…
The large magnification factors of gravitationally lensed (GL) systems allow us to investigate the properties of quasars with X-ray luminosities that are substantially lower than those of unlensed ones and also provide an independent means…
We address two selection effects that operate on samples of gravitationally lensed dusty galaxies identified in millimeter- and submillimeter-wavelength surveys. First, we point out the existence of a "size bias" in such samples: due to…
The Chandra observations of several gravitationally lensed quasars show evidence for flux and spectral variability of the X-ray emission that is uncorrelated between images and is thought to result from the microlensing by stars in the…
Gravitational lensing can amplify the apparent brightness of distant sources. Images that are highly magnified are often part of multiply-imaged systems, but we consider the possibility of having large magnifications without additional…
We predict the effects of gravitational lensing on the color-selected flux-limited samples of z~4.3 and z>5.8 quasars, recently published by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our main findings are: (i) The lensing probability should be…
X-ray and optical observations of quadruply lensed quasars can provide a microarcsecond probe of the lensed quasar, corresponding to scale sizes of \~10^2-10^4 gravitational radii of the central black hole. This high angular resolution is…
Recent estimates of the scale of structures at the heart of quasars suggest that the region responsible for the broad line emission are smaller than previously thought. With this revision of scale, the broad line region is amenable to the…
The theoretically expected amplitude of the associations of background quasars with foreground galaxies as a result of gravitational lensing has been updated in this paper. Since the galactic matter alone yields an amplitude of quasar…
Gravitational lensing by a spiral galaxy occurs when the line-of-sight to a background quasar passes within a few kpc from the center of the galactic disk. Since galactic disks are rich in neutral hydrogen, the quasar spectrum will likely…
We re-analyze constraints on the cosmological constant that can be obtained by examining the statistics of strong gravitational lensing of distant quasars by intervening galaxies, focusing on uncertainties in galaxy models (including…
We present an X-ray photometric analysis of six gravitationally lensed quasars, with observation campaigns spanning from 5 to 14 years, measuring the total (0.83 - 21.8 keV restframe), soft (0.83 - 3.6 keV), and hard (3.6 - 21.8 keV) band…
We propose a method for detecting gravitational magnification of distant sources, like quasars, due to absorber systems detected in their spectra. We first motivate the use of metal absorption lines rather than Lyman-alpha lines, then we…
We review results from our monitoring observations of several lensed quasars performed in the optical, UV, and X-ray bands. Modeling of the multi-wavelength light curves provides constraints on the extent of the optical, UV, and X-ray…
We present an alternative but intuitive method of obtaining the true or intrinsic quasar luminosity function through the observed one in the framework of gravitational lensing. Such a so-called inversion of the magnification bias can be…
It is accepted that quasars are powered by supermassive black holes (SMBH) with masses in the range 10^6 - 10^9 solar masses in their cores. Occasionally, compact stars can plunge into SMBH. In addition, there may be a number of such…
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…