Related papers: Quantitative Interpretation of Quasar Microlensing…

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…

We consider microlensing of an elliptical source crossing a fold caustic. We derive a simple expression for the light curve of a source with uniform surface brightness that is accurate to third order in the ellipticity e (yielding errors of…

We present the final results of a ROSAT PSPC program to study the soft X-ray emission properties of a complete sample of low $z$ quasars. The main results are: 1. There is no evidence for significant soft excess emission or excess…

Line profile distortions are commonly observed in gravitationally lensed quasar spectra. These distortions are caused by microlensing from the stars in the lensing galaxy, which produce differential magnification of spatially and…

Accretion processes in quasars and active galactic nuclei are still poorly understood, especially as far as the connection between observed spectral properties and physical parameters is concerned. Quasars show an additional degree of…

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been observed to vary stochastically with 10-20 rms amplitudes over a range of optical wavelengths where the emission arises in an accretion disk. Since the accretion disk is unlikely to vary coherently,…

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…

We present two-dimensional stellar and gaseous kinematics of the inner 0.8x1.1kpc^2 of the LINER/Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC7213, from optical spectra obtained with the GMOS integral field spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope at a spatial…

We analyze a sample of optical light curves for 100 quasars, 70 of which have black hole mass estimates. Our sample is the largest and broadest used yet for modeling quasar variability. The sources in our sample have z < 2.8 and 10^6 < M_BH…

Observations of Galactic black hole sources are traditionally done in the classical X-ray range (2 -- 10 keV) due to sensitivity constraints. Most of the accretion power, however, is radiated above 10 keV and the study of these sources in…

Recent observations of Sgr A* give strong constraints for possible models of the physical nature of Sgr A* and suggest the presence of a massive black~hole with M<2 10^6 M_sun surrounded by an accretion disk which we estimate to radiate at…

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…

We report observations of the four-image gravitational lens system Q2237+0305 with the VLA at 20 cm and 3.6 cm. The quasar was detected at both frequencies (\approx 0.7 mJy) with a flat spectrum. All four lensed images are clearly resolved…

Two years' worth of u-, g-, r-, i-, and z-band optical light curves were obtained for the massive type 1 quasar PG 2308+098 at z=0.433 using the 1.05-m Kiso Schmidt telescope/Kiso Wide Field Camera, and inter-band time lags of the light…

Determining black hole masses and accretion rates with better accuracy and precision is crucial for understanding quasars as a population. These are fundamental physical properties that underpin models of active galactic nuclei. A primary…

We measure the black hole mass and investigate the accretion flow around the local ($z=0.0502$) quasar PG 1119+120. Spectroscopic monitoring with Calar Alto provides H$\beta$ lags and linewidths from which we estimate a black hole mass of…

The idea that dark matter can be made of intermediate-mass primordial black holes in the $10M_\odot \lesssim M \lesssim 200M_\odot$ range has recently been reconsidered, particularly in the light of the detection of gravitational waves by…

The flux ratios of gravitationally lensed quasars provide a powerful probe of the nature of dark matter. Importantly, these ratios are sensitive to small-scale structure, irrespective of the presence of baryons. This sensitivity may allow…

We present observations of probable line-of-sight acceleration of a broad absorption trough of C IV in the quasar SDSS J024221.87+004912.6. We also discuss how the velocity overlap of two other outflowing systems in the same object…

Quasar feedback models often predict an expanding hot gas bubble which drives a galaxy-scale outflow. In many circumstances this hot gas radiates inefficiently and is therefore difficult to observe directly. We present an indirect method to…