Related papers: Constraining photon-axion oscillations using quasa…
Correctly interpreting observations of sources such as type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) require knowledge of the power spectrum of matter on AU scales - which is very hard to model accurately. Because under-dense regions account for much of the…
We show that a large-area imaging survey using narrow-band filters could detect quasars in sufficiently high number densities, and with more than sufficient accuracy in their photometric redshifts, to turn them into suitable tracers of…
The dispersion in the peak luminosities of high redshift type Ia supernovae will change with redshift due to gravitational lensing. This lensing is investigated with an emphasis on the prospects of measuring it and separating it from other…
We discuss axion dark matter detection via two mechanisms: spontaneous decays and resonant conversion in neutron star magnetospheres. For decays, we show that the brightness temperature signal, rather than flux, is a less ambiguous measure…
Observations of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe~Ia) are used to study the cosmic transparency at optical wavelengths. Assuming a flat $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model based on BAO and CMB results, redshift dependent deviations of SN~Ia…
Axions are a theoretically promising dark matter (DM) candidate. In the presence of radiation from bright astrophysical sources at radio frequencies, nonrelativistic DM axions can undergo stimulated decay to two nearly back-to-back photons,…
The constraints on non-minimal dark sectors involving ensembles of unstable dark-matter species are well established and quite stringent in cases in which these species decay to visible-sector particles. However, in cases in which these…
A dark photon may kinetically mix with the ordinary photon, inducing oscillations with observable imprints on cosmology. Oscillations are resonantly enhanced if the dark photon mass equals the ordinary photon plasma mass, which tracks the…
We develop and assess the potential of several powerful techniques, designed to investigate the details of reionization. First, we present a procedure to probe the neutral fraction, x_HI, using the Lyman alpha transmission statistics of…
Optically--faint X-ray sources (those with f_X/f_R > 10) constitute about 20% of X-ray sources in deep surveys, and are potentially highly obscured and/or at high redshift. Their faint optical fluxes are generally beyond the reach of…
In interstellar media characterized by a nonrelativistic plasma of electrons and heavy ions, we study the effect of axion dark matter coupled to photons on the dynamics of an electric field. In particular, we assume the presence of a…
Recent studies have suggested the possibility of significantly obscuring super-soft X-ray sources in relatively modest amounts of local matter lost from the binaries themselves. If correct, then this would have explained the paucity of…
Weak lensing of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae induces an external dispersion in their observed standard candle brightnesses, comparable in magnitude to the intrinsic dispersion for redshifts z>1. The same matter fluctuations responsible…
The potential to detect axion dark matter through astrophysical processes has shown high promise in recent years. We therefore expand on previous work studying the axion-to-photon conversion efficacy of neutron stars and the interstellar…
We present optical spectroscopy of a sample of 77 luminous AGN and quasars selected on the basis of their mid-infrared colors. Our objects are selected from the Spitzer Extragalactic First Look Survey and SWIRE XMM-LSS fields, with a…
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 propose a new method to search for light (pseudo-)scalar particles in the spectra of compact astrophysical objects such as magnetars, pulsars, and quasars. On accounts of compact astrophysical objects having intense magnetic fields…
The uncertain origin of the recently-discovered `changing-looking' quasar phenomenon -- in which a luminous quasar dims significantly to a quiescent state in repeat spectroscopy over ~10 year timescales -- may present unexpected challenges…
We investigate photon-axion conversion in the vicinity of rotating Kerr black holes where strong gravity traps photons on near-circular trajectories, effectively enhancing the path length. We explore the observable signatures of such a…
We present the discovery of one or two extremely faint z~6 quasars in 6.5 deg^2 utilizing a unique capability of the wide-field imaging of the Subaru/Suprime-Cam. The quasar selection was made in (i'-z_B) and (z_B-z_R) colors, where z_B and…