Related papers: Detecting and interpreting statistical lensing by …
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 analyse the properties of MgII absorption systems detected along the sightlines toward GRBs using a sample of 10 GRB afterglow spectra obtained with VLT-UVES over the past six years. The S/N ratio is sufficiently high that we can extend…
We have compiled a new and extensive catalog of heavy-element QSO absorption line systems and analyzed the distribution of absorbers in bright and faint QSOs, to search for gravitational lensing of background QSOs by the matter associated…
We report on the detection of gravitational lensing magnification by a population of galaxy groups, at a significance level of 4.9 sigma. Using X-ray selected groups in the COSMOS 1.64 deg^2 field, and high-redshift Lyman break galaxies as…
Radio wave propagation can be perturbed by compact ionized gas clumps through plasma lensing, which induces frequency dependent magnification and may distort the observed number counts of background sources. The quasar (QSO) number…
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 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…
While it is possible to explain Lyman alpha absorber counts at low redshift using gas which is associated with moderately extended galaxies (Linder 1997), absorbers are often observed to be associated with galaxies at larger impact…
Massive structures, such as galaxies, act as strong gravitational lenses on background sources. When the background source is a quasar, several lensed images are seen, as magnified or de-magnified versions of the same object. The detailed…
We report the detection, based on HST and Keck data, of two peculiar absorbers in the Ly-alpha forest of the quasar PKS 0454+039. These clouds, at redshifts z=0.6248 and 0.9315 respectively, display both MgII and FeII absorption lines in…
Strong gravitational lensing has significantly advanced the study of high-redshift galaxies, but the differential magnification effect inevitably introduces biases in the spectral analysis of source galaxies. This work investigates these…
We present the results of a search for metal absorption lines in the spectra of background QSOs whose sightlines pass close to foreground QSOs. We detect MgII(2796,2803) absorption in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra of four z>1.5…
We demonstrate that gravitationally lensed quasars are easily recognized using image subtraction methods as time variable sources that are spatially extended. For Galactic latitudes |b|>20 deg, lensed quasars dominate the population of…
The quasar Q1208+1011 (z_{em}=3.8) is the second highest redshift double quasar ever detected. Several indications point toward it being a gravitational lensed system, although a definitive proof is still lacking. We present new evidence of…
We show how observations of multiply-imaged quasars at high redshift can be used as a probe of dark matter clumps (subhalos with masses ~ 10^9 solar masses) within the virialized extent of more massive lensing halos. A large abundance of…
LISA might detect gravitational waves from mergers of massive black hole binaries strongly lensed by intervening galaxies (Sereno et al. 2010). The detection of multiple gravitational lensing events would provide a new tool for cosmography.…
We propose a new approach for measuring the mass profile and shape of groups and clusters of galaxies, which uses lensing magnification of distant background galaxies. The main advantage of lensing magnification is that, unlike lensing…
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 present r'- or i'-band WIYN images of the fields of 15 Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars that have spectra exhibiting intervening MgII absorption-line systems with rest equivalent widths 2.7A \le REW \le 6.0A and redshifts 0.42 < z_{abs}…
We present the results of microlens ray-tracing simulations showing the effect of absorbing material between a source quasar and a lensing galaxy in a gravitational lens system. We find that, in addition to brightness fluctuations due to…