Related papers: Probing Sub-parsec Structure in the Lyman Alpha Fo…
We briefly review, at a level appropriate for graduate students and non-specialists, the field of quasar absorption lines (QALs). Emphasis is on the intervening absorbers. We present the anatomy of a quasar spectrum due to various classes…
Gravitational microlensing of planetary-mass objects (or "nanolensing", as it has been termed) can be used to probe the distribution of mass in a galaxy that is acting as a gravitational lens. Microlensing and nanolensing light curve…
We present narrowband images of the gravitational lens system Q~2237+0305 made with the Nordic Optical Telescope in eight different filters covering the wavelength interval 3510-8130 \AA. Using point-spread function photometry fitting we…
The apparent angular positions of quasars are deflected on the sky by the gravitational field sourced by foreground matter. This weak lensing effect is measurable through the distortions it introduces in the lensed quasar spectra.…
Quasar absorption lines have long been recognized to be a sensitive probe of the abundances, physical conditions, and kinematics of gas in a wide variety of environments including low-density intergalactic regions that probably cannot be…
Lyman alpha absorber correlations contain information about the underlying density distribution associated with a particular class of absorbers. As such, they provide an opportunity to independently measure the "bias" of the Lyman alpha…
We describe techniques for comparing spectra extracted from cosmological simulations and observational data, using the same methodology to link Lyman-alpha properties derived from the simulations with properties derived from observational…
We investigate correlations between the long wavelength fluctuations and the small scale power in the Lyman alpha forest. We show that such correlations can be used to discriminate between fluctuations induced by large scale structure and…
We study the geometry and the internal structure of the outflowing wind from the accretion disk of a quasar by observing multiple sightlines with the aid of strong gravitational lensing. Using Subaru/HDS, we performed high-resolution ($R$…
Lyman-alpha forest data probing the post-reionization Universe shows surprisingly large opacity fluctuations over rather large ($\ge$50 comoving Mpc/h) spatial scales. We model these fluctuations using a hybrid approach utilizing the large…
A generic assumption of ionization models of quasar absorption systems is that radiation from local sources is negligible compared with the cosmological background. We test this assumption and find that it is unlikely to hold for absorbers…
We have made radio- and millimeter-wavelength interferometric observations of a variety of molecular absorption lines toward the gravitational lens systems B0218+357 and PKS1830-211. The absorption occurs in the lensing galaxies at…
The evolution of the expansion rate of the Universe results in a drift in the redshift of distant sources over time. A measurement of this drift would provide us with a direct probe of expansion history. The Lyman alpha forest has been…
Studies of the lensed quasar ${\rm Q}0957+561 {\rm A,B}$ have shown evidence for microlensing in the brightness history of the quasar images. It had been suggested that a frequency offset between the brightness fluctuations in each of the…
Gravitational microlensing is a powerful tool for probing the inner structure of distant quasars. In this context, we have obtained spectropolarimetric observations of the two images of the broad absorption line (BAL) quasar…
The gravitational lensing constraints on the small mass end of the LCDM mass function are discussed. Here a conservative approach is taken where only the most difficult to explain image flux anomalies in strong QSO lenses are emphasized.…
We study the time variation of the apparent flux of cosmological point sources due to the transient weak lensing by dark matter microhaloes. Assuming a transverse motion of microhaloes with respect to our line of sight, we derive the…
Time variability of astronomical sources provides crude information on their typical size and on the implied physical mechanisms. PKS1830-211 is a remarkable radio-bright lensed quasar with a foreground molecular absorber at z=0.89.…
The effects of galaxy selection on our ability to constrain the nature of weak Ly\alpha absorbers at low redshift are explored. Current observations indicate the existence of a population of gas-rich, low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies,…
The gravitational fields of astrophysical bodies bend the light around them, creating multiple paths along which light from a distant source can arrive at Earth. Measuring the difference in photon arrival time along these different paths…