Related papers: Gravitational Lensing of Variability-slected QSO b…
We announce the detection of correlations on angular scales of $\ga10'$ between optically bright, high-redshift, radio-loud QSOs with diffuse X-ray emission seen by ROSAT in the {\it All-Sky Survey}. These correlations reach significance…
0957+561 is the first gravitational lens system to be discovered and first for which a time delay was measured. Because the system is unusually rich in observables such as image positions, fluxes, VLBI structure, and polarization it has…
We present a programme of spectroscopic observations of galaxies in a sample of optically-selected clusters taken from the catalogue of Couch et al (1991). Previous ROSAT observations of these clusters have shown them to have lower X-ray…
In the standard picture of structure formation, the first massive galaxies are expected to form at the highest peaks of the density field, which constitute the cores of massive proto-clusters. Luminous quasars (QSOs) at z~4 are the most…
We present the results of an unbiased radio search for gravitational lensing events with image separations between 15 and 60 arcsec, which would be associated with clusters of galaxies with masses >10^{13-14}M_{\sun}. A parent population of…
Multiply gravitationally lensed objects with known time delays can lead to direct determinations of H$_0$ independent of the distance ladder if the mass distribution of the lens is known. Currently, the double QSO 0957+561 is the only…
An ESO Key programme dedicated to an Homogeneous Bright QSO Survey (HBQS) has been completed. 327 QSOs (Mb<-23, 0.3<z<2.2) have been selected over 555 deg^2 with 15<B<18.75. For B<16.4 the QSO surface density turns out to be a factor 2.2…
We present the discovery of a gravitationally lensed dust-reddened QSO at $z=2.517$ discovered in a survey for red QSOs by infrared selection. $Hubble~Space~Telescope$ imaging in the WFC3/IR F160W and F125W filters reveals a quadruply…
Galaxy clusters are hotter and more X-ray luminous than in quiescence while they undergo major mergers, which also transiently increase their strong-lensing efficiency. We use semi-analytic models for both effects to study how cluster…
Motivated by the preponderance of so-called "heavy black holes" in the binary black hole (BBH) gravitational wave (GW) detections to date, and the role that gravitational lensing continues to play in discovering new galaxy populations, we…
We have initiated a programme to study the physical/dynamical state of gas in galaxy clusters and the impact of the cluster environment on gaseous halos of individual galaxies using X-ray imaging and UV absorption line spectroscopy of…
We calculate the abundance of dark-matter concentrations that are sufficiently overdense to produce a detectable weak-gravitational-lensing signal. Most of these overdensities are virialized halos containing identifiable X-ray and/or…
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…
If galaxy clusters contain intracluster dust, the spectra of galaxies lying behind clusters should show attenuation by dust absorption. We compare the optical (3500 - 7200 \AA) spectra of 60,267 luminous, early-type galaxies selected from…
Lensing in the context of rich clusters is normally quantified from small image distortions, yielding a relative mass distribution in the limit of weak lensing. Here we show the magnification effect of lensing can also be mapped over a…
The MS1224+20 cluster of galaxies is a high luminosity X-ray source at z=0.325. To compare the lensing mass to the virial mass we have completed a uniform, high precision redshift survey over a field of $7\arcm\times9\arcm$, obtaining 75…
Gravitational waves from inspiraling compact binaries provide direct measurements of luminosity distances and serve as a powerful probe of the high-redshift Universe. In addition to their role as standard sirens, they offer an opportunity…
We examine the gravitational lensing effect of a foreground galaxy cluster on the number count statistics of background X-ray sources. The lensing produces a deficit in the number of resolved sources in a ring close to the critical radius…
Clusters of galaxies offer a robust test bed for probing the nature of dark matter that is insensitive to the assumption of the gravity theories. Both Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and General Relativity (GR) would require similar…
Sixty percent of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) reveal strong MgII absorbing systems, which is a factor of ~2 times the rate seen along lines-of-sight to quasars. The discrepancy in the covering factor is most likely to be the result of either…