相关论文: Quasars and their emission lines as cosmological p…
Quasars are effective tracers of the large-scale distribution of galaxies at high redshift thanks to their high luminosity and dedicated surveys. Previous studies have shown that quasars exhibit a bias similar to that of rich groups,…
The most distant quasars known, at redshifts z=6, generally have properties indistinguishable from those of lower-redshift quasars in the rest-frame ultraviolet/optical and X-ray bands. This puzzling result suggests that these distant…
(abridged) We present the X-ray analysis of a sample of 30 luminous quasars at $z\simeq3.0-3.3$ with deep XMM-Newton observations, selected from the SDSS-DR7 to be representative of the most luminous, intrinsically blue quasar population.…
The nature of dark energy, driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe, is one of the most important issues in modern astrophysics. In order to understand this phenomenon, we need precise astrophysical probes of the universal…
Most models of the origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays rely on the existence of luminous extragalactic sources. Cosmic rays escaping the galaxy where the source is located produce a sufficiently large electric current to justify the…
We report on Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of a sample of 13 quasars at z~4.7-5.4 mostly taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The present sample complements previous X-ray studies of z>4 quasars, in which the majority of…
Cosmic ray astronomy attempts to identify and study the sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. It is unique in its reliance on charged particles as the information carriers. While no discrete source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays has…
We study the quasi-simultaneous near-IR, optical, UV, and X-ray photometry of eleven gamma-ray selected blazars for which redshift estimates larger than 1.2 have been recently provided. Four of these objects turn out to be high-power…
In the past years, the results obtained by the WISSH quasar project provided a novel general picture on the distinctive multi-band properties of hyper-luminous ($L_{bol}>10^{47}$ erg/s) quasars at high redshift (z$\sim$2-4), unveiling…
Standard candles are one of the most important tools to study the universe. In this paper, the constraints of standards candles on the cosmological parameters are estimated for different cases. The dependence of the constraints on the…
Unless properly corrected for, the existence of intergalactic dust will introduce a redshift dependent magnitude offset to standard candle sources. This would lead to overestimated luminosity distances compared to a dust-free universe and…
Despite extensive efforts, only two quasars have been found at $z>7$ to date due to a combination of low spatial density and high contamination from more ubiquitous Galactic cool dwarfs in quasar selection. This limits our current knowledge…
The 100,000 spectra from the 2 degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) in the 100k Public Data Release represent the largest single compilation of galaxy spectra available. By virtue of its sheer size and the properties of the…
Quasars acting as strong gravitational lenses offer a rare opportunity to probe the redshift evolution of scaling relations between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, particularly the $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--$M_{\mathrm{host}}$…
The bulk of observed ultrahigh energy cosmic rays could be light or heavier elements, and originate from an either steady or transient population of sources. This leaves us with four general categories of sources. Energetic requirements set…
We investigate Extremely Red Quasars (ERQs), a remarkable population of heavily-reddened quasars at redshift z$\sim$2 - 3 that might be caught during a short-lived 'blow-out' phase of quasar/galaxy evolution. We perform a near-IR…
Empirical studies of the first generation of stars and quasars will likely become feasible within the next decade in several different wavelength bands. Microwave anisotropy experiments, such as MAP or Planck, will set constraints on the…
We present imaging and spectroscopic observations for six quasars at z>5.9 discovered by the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS). The CFHQS contains sub-surveys with a range of flux and area combinations to sample a wide range of…
Quasars, powered by gas accretion onto supermassive black holes, rank among the most energetic objects of the Universe. While they are thought to be ignited by galaxy mergers and affect the surrounding gas, observational constraints on both…
A significant fraction of the energy emitted in the early Universe came from very luminous galaxies that are largely hidden at optical wavelengths (because of interstellar dust grains); this energy now forms part of the cosmic background…