The atmospheric Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope MAGIC, designed for a low-energy threshold, has detected very-high-energy gamma rays from a giant flare of the distant Quasi-Stellar Radio Source (in short: radio quasar) 3C 279, at a distance of more than 5 billion light-years (a redshift of 0.536). No quasar has been observed previously in very-high-energy gamma radiation, and this is also the most distant object detected emitting gamma rays above 50 gigaelectron volts. Since high-energy gamma rays may be stopped by interacting with the diffuse background light in the universe, the observations by MAGIC imply a low amount for such light, consistent with that known from galaxy counts.
Very deep imaging data of three optically luminous radio-loud quasars with redshifts between z=0.9 and z=1.36 are presented. The data are complete for galaxies down to R=26. There is no evidence for excess numbers of galaxies around the quasars; foreground galaxy clusters are excluded by the data as well as clusters with richness classes greater than 1 associated with the quasars. We find clear evidence for gravitational lensing for two quasars. It is further shown that due to the high surface density of galaxies all distant (z>1) objects are moderately affected by gravitational lensing; the a…
We present near-IR, low resolution spectra of eight of the most distant quasars known, with redshifts in the range 4.9<z<6.4. Half of these quasars are characterized by deep, broad and blueshifted absorption features associated with both high and low ionization species (CIV, SiIV, AlIII, MgII), i.e. they belong to the class of Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasars, which are associated with powerful outflows of dense gas. Although the sample is small, the large fraction of BAL quasars, the depth and ionization state of the absorption features suggest that these most distant quasars are surrounde…
We report the discovery of a high-z quasar with unambiguous [OIII]5007 emission; PKS 1937-101 at redshift 3.8. This quasar, however, shows little evidence for rest-frame ultraviolet and optical FeII emission. It is thus shown that PKS 1937-101 does not belong to a class of super iron-rich high-z quasars reported by Elston, Thompson, & Hill (1994). The epoch of major star formation in the host galaxy is discussed briefly.
We report on the search for distant radio-loud quasars in the Cosmic Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) of flat spectrum radio sources with S_5GHz>30 mJy. Unresolved optical counterparts were selected from APM scans of POSS-I plates, with e<19.0 and red o-e>2.0 colours, in an effective area of ~6400 deg^2. Four sources were found to be quasars with z>4, of which one was previously known. This sample bridges the gap between the strong radio surveys with S_5GHz>200 mJy and the samples of radio-weak quasars that can be generated via radio observations of optically selected quasars. In addition, 4 new qu…
We observed SDSS J0836+0054, the most distant radio-loud quasar known at present (z=5.774) with the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network at the 5 GHz frequency on 2003 November 4. The source is compact at the milli-arcsecond (mas) angular scale with a flux density of 0.34 mJy. The observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) made on the consecutive day support a conclusion that the radio emission from SDSS J0836+0054 is essentially confined within the central 40 pc. Based on our phase-referenced VLBI observation, we obtained the astrometric position of the source accurate …
The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) has the necessary combination of filters (Y, J, H and K), depth (Y <~ 20.2) and area coverage (~4000 deg^2) to detect several redshift z >~ 6.4 quasars. The Third Data Release (DR3) included ~1000 deg^2 of LAS observations which have so far yielded two previously known z ~= 6 quasars and two new discoveries: ULAS J0203+0012, at z = 5.72; and ULAS J1319+0950, at z = 6.13.
Observations of quasar absorption systems relevant for studies of star formation at redshift 2 </= z </= 4 are briefly reviewed. Emphasis is given on the role played by dust in our understanding of the star formation history of galaxies detected as absorption systems. Local interstellar studies are used as a reference for understanding the properties of high redshift interstellar media. An example is shown of the potential effects of dust extinction on the metallicity-N(HI) distribution obtained from magnitude-limited surveys of damped lyman alpha absorbers.
Exceptionally bright quasars with redshifts up to z=6.28 have recently been discovered. Quasars are thought to be powered by the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Their maximum (Eddington) luminosity is proportional to the mass of the black hole, and so these bright quasars are inferred to have black holes with masses of more than a few billion solar masses. The existence of such massive black holes poses a challenge to models for the formation of structures in the early Universe, as it requires that the black holes would grow so massive in less than a …
The quasar 3C 279 is one of the best-studied flat spectrum radio quasars. It is located at a comparatively large redshift of z=0.536: E>100 GeV observations of such distant sources were until recently impossible both due to the expected steep energy spectrum and the expected attenuation of the gamma-rays by the extragalactic background light. Here we present results on the observation of 3C 279 with the MAGIC telescope in early 2006. We report the detection of a significant very high energy gamma-ray signal in the MAGIC energy range on the observation night of 2006 February 23.
We present a high resolution radio image of SDSS 0836+0054 identified recently as the most distant radio-detected quasar at a redshift of z=5.82. The observation was carried out with ten antennas of the European VLBI Network, spread from Europe to China and South Africa, at 1.6 GHz frequency on 2002 June 8. The source is detected with a total flux density of 1.1 mJy, equal to its flux density measured in the VLA FIRST survey. We found no indication of multiple images produced by gravitational lensing. The radio structure of the quasar at ~10-mas angular resolution appears somewhat resolved. It…
In the two parts of this contribution we describe two related XMM-Newton programs. The first part summarizes our study of the X-ray spectral properties and variability of z>4 quasars (Shemmer et al. 2005). The second part presents preliminary results from our ongoing XMM-Newton program to investigate the X-ray spectral properties and variability of luminous, high accretion-rate quasars at z~2--3. We find that the X-ray photon index does not depend on luminosity or redshift, and there is suggestive evidence that it may depend on the accretion rate. None of our quasars is significantly absorbed,…
We present four improved empirical relationships useful for estimating the central black hole mass in nearby AGNs and distant luminous quasars alike using either optical or UV single-epoch spectroscopy. These mass-scaling relationships between line widths and luminosity are based on recently improved empirical relationships between the broad-line region size and luminosities in various energy bands and are calibrated to the improved mass measurements of nearby AGNs based on emission-line reverberation mapping. The mass-scaling relationship based on the Hbeta line luminosity allows mass estimat…
We propose a proper method to measure the size of the narrow line region (NLR) in distant quasars. The apparent angular size of the NLR is, in general, too small to resolve technically. However, it is possible to map the NLR if with gravitational lensing. In our method, we directly compare the observed image of the NLR with the expected lensed images of the NLR for various source sizes and lens models. Seeking the best fit image via the comparison procedures, we can obtain the best-fit size and the best-fit lens model. We apply this method to the two-dimensional spectroscopic data of a famous …
Chandra and XMM-Newton have resolved the 2-8 keV X-ray Background (XRB) into point sources. Many of the fainter sources are obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) with column densities in the range of 10^22-10^23 pcmsq, some of which have quasar-like luminosities. According to obscuration models, the XRB above 8 keV is dominated by emission from Compton-thick AGN, with column densities exceeding 1.5 times 10^24 pcmsq. Here, we consider whether Compton-thick quasars are detectable by Chandra and XMM-Newton by their direct (i.e. not scattered) X-ray emission. Detectability is optimized if the obj…
The theory predicts that the effect of gravitational lensing by the matter associated with clusters of galaxies can magnify background sources, leading to an enhancement of source number density around foreground clusters of galaxies. We conduct a search for the associations of distant radio-bright quasars with Abell clusters using the 1-Jy and 2-Jy all-sky catalogs. Statistics turns to be very poor on the basis of the 1-Jy sample, which shows no correlations between the distant radio quasars with the foreground Abell clusters above $1σ$ level. However, an apparent association ($>1σ$) of the 2…
Context: The highest redshift quasars at z>~6 receive considerable attention since they provide strong constraints on the growth of the earliest supermassive black holes. They also probe the epoch of reionisation and serve as "lighthouses" to illuminate the space between them and the observer. The source J1427+3312 (z=6.12) has recently been identified as the first and so far the only known radio-loud quasar at z>6. Aims: We investigated the compact radio structure of J1427+3312 on milli-arcsecond (mas) angular scales, to compare it with that of the second most distant radio-loud quasar J0836+…
We present the mass functions of actively accreting supermassive black holes over the redshift range 0.3 <= z <= 5 for a well-defined, homogeneous sample of 15,180 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 3 (SDSS DR3) within an effective area of 1644 square degrees. This sample is the most uniform statistically significant subset available for the DR3 quasar sample. It was used for the DR3 quasar luminosity function, presented by Richards et al., and is the only sample suitable for the determination of the SDSS quasar black hole mass function. The sample extends from i = 15 to i …
We present low-frequency, GMRT (Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope) observations at 333 and 617 MHz of the most-distant giant quasar, J1432+158, which is at a redshift of 1.005. The radio source has a total angular extent of 168 arcsec, corresponding to a projected linear size of 1.35 Mpc. This makes it presently the largest single object observed beyond a redshift of one. The objectives of the GMRT observations were to investigate the possibility of detecting a bridge of emission at low frequencies, which may be suppressed due to inverse-Compton losses against the cosmic microwave background rad…
We report new continuum observations of fourteen z~6 quasars at 250 GHz and fourteen quasars at 1.4 GHz. We summarize all recent millimeter and radio observations of the sample of the thirty-three quasars known with 5.71<=z<=6.43, and present a study of the rest frame far-infrared (FIR) properties of this sample. These quasars were observed with the Max Plank Millimeter Bolometer Array (MAMBO) at 250 GHz with mJy sensitivity, and 30% of them were detected. We also recover the average 250 GHz flux density of the MAMBO undetected sources at 4 sigma, by stacking the on-source measurements. The de…
A search for millimetric continuum emission from eight optically-selected, radio-quiet quasars and a radiogalaxy with 3.7 < z < 4.3, has been undertaken using a highly sensitive 7-channel bolometer on the IRAM 30-m Millimetre Radio Telescope. Detections of a potentially dust-rich quasar, and of 8C1435+635, the most distant known radiogalaxy, are reported. An extrapolation of the steepening centimetric radio spectrum of 8C1435+635 accounts for less than one per cent of the observed 1.25-mm flux density, indicating that the emission is most likely from warm dust, although the present data cannot…
A five square arcminute region around the luminous radio-loud quasar SDSS J0836+0054 (z=5.8) hosts a wealth of associated galaxies, characterized by very red (1.3 < i_775 - z_{850} < 2.0) color. The surface density of these z~5.8 candidates is approximately six times higher than the number expected from deep ACS fields. This is one of the highest galaxy overdensities at high redshifts, which may develop into a group or cluster. We also find evidence for a substructure associated with one of the candidates. It has two very faint companion objects within two arcseconds, which are likely to merge…
The probability of strong gravitational lensing of distant compact objects by transparent lenses with King mass distributions is calculated. Examples of such lenses are globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, and clusters of hidden mass. The lens masses thus range from 10^3 to 10^9 Solar mass, intermediate between stellar and galactic masses. Taking account of the conic caustic of King lenses and the fractal large-scale distribution of matter along the line of sight, it is possible to explain the correlation between quasars and galaxies as the effect of strong gravitational lensing of the active nu…
We report observations of three SDSS z>6 QSOs at 250 GHz (1.2mm) using the 117-channel Max-Planck Millimeter Bolometer (MAMBO-2) array at the IRAM 30-meter telescope. J1148+5251 (z=6.41) and J1048+4637 (z=6.23) were detected with 250 GHz flux densities of 5.0 +- 0.6 mJy and 3.0 +- 0.4 mJy, respectively. J1630+4012 (z=6.05) was not detected with a 3 sigma upper limit of 1.8 mJy. Upper flux density limits from VLA observations at 43 GHz for J1148+5251 and J1048+4637 imply steeply rising spectra, indicative of thermal infrared emission from warm dust. The far-infrared luminosities are estimated t…
Two spectacular results emerging from recent studies of nearby dead quasars and distant active quasars are (i) the existence of tight relations between the masses of black holes (BHs) and the properties of their host galaxies (spheroid luminosity or velocity dispersion, galaxy mass), and (ii) a consistency between the local mass density in BHs and that expected by summing up the light received from distant active quasars. These results are partly shaped by successive galactic mergers and BH coalescences, since mergers redistribute the population of BHs in galaxies and BH binary coalescences re…
The MUNICS project is an ongoing imaging survey designed to cover 3 sq. degrees in V,R,I,J,K'. We describe here partial results of the project concerning the clustering properties of K' < 19.5 galaxies in scales of 3.6'' to 63.0'' over an area of $\sim 800 arcmin^2$. We present K' data for a sample of 20 fields, five of which contain $z > 0.5$ radio-loud quasars with steep spectra, eight contain $z > 0.5$ radio-loud quasars with flat spectra and seven are high-galactic latitude fields with no quasars in them. The two-point angular correlation function for the total sample shows significant clu…
The majority of bright distant quasars $(z {}^{>}_{\sim} 1)$ may form in massive mergers appearing in compact galaxy groups in/and young clusters. The expected tests are (i) large correlation signal for medium-$z$ QSOs $(1 < z < 2)$ and (ii) direct search for quasar groups (QGs) indicating positions of distant pre-superclusters which later will evolve to the "systems" like the local Great Attractor or Shapley concentration. We discuss large QGs with more than ten members within regions $\le l_{LS} \sim 100-150 \, h^{-1} Mpc$, tracing the enhanced density regions at $z {}^{<}_{\sim} 2$. These e…
We report on an XMM-Newton observation of the most distant known quasar, SDSSp J104433.04-012502.2, at z=5.80. We have detected this quasar with high significance in the rest-frame 3.4-13.6 keV band, making it the most distant cosmic object detected in X-rays; 32 +/- 9 counts were collected. SDSSp J104433.04-012502.2 is notably X-ray weak relative to other luminous, optically selected quasars, with alpha_ox=-1.91 +/- 0.05 and a 3.4-13.6 keV luminosity of about 1.8 x 10^{44} erg/s. The most likely reason for its X-ray weakness is heavy absorption with N_H greater than about 10^{24} 1/cm^2, as i…
We present optical spectropolarimetric and imaging polarimetric observations of four high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) obtained with the 10-m Keck I telescope. A broad Mg II emission line is detected in the total and polarized flux spectra of 3C 265 and 3C 277.2. The fractional polarization is high, and both it and the position angle are constant with wavelength after accounting for dilution by unpolarized starlight of the host galaxy, which can contribute substantially. An extended unpolarized continuum similar to that observed in other AGNs is also detected. Imaging polarimetry reveals a …
Most of the successful physical theories rely on the constancy of few fundamental quantities (such as the speed of light, $c$, the fine-structure constant, α, the proton to electron mass ratio, μ, etc), and constraining the possible time variations of these fundamental quantities is an important step toward a complete physical theory. Time variation of αcan be accurately probed using absorption lines seen in the spectra of distant quasars. Here, we present the results of a detailed many-multiplet analysis performed on a new sample of Mg II systems observed in high quality quasar spectra obtain…
Black-hole masses of distant quasars cannot be measured directly, but can be estimated to within a factor 3 to 5 using scaling relationships involving the quasar luminosity and broad-line width. Why such relationships are reasonable is summarized. The results of applying scaling relationships to data of quasars at a range of redshifts (z <= 6.3) are presented. Luminous quasars typically have masses of order 1 billion solar masses even at the highest redshifts. The fact that such massive black holes appear as early as at z ~ 6 indicate that black holes form very early or build up mass very fast…
An empirical relationship, of particular interest for studies of high redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars, between the masses of their central black-holes and rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) parameters measured in single-epoch AGN spectra is presented. This relationship is calibrated to recently measured reverberation masses of low-redshift AGNs and quasars. An empirical relationship between single-epoch rest-frame optical spectrophotometric measurements and the central masses is also presented. The UV relationship allows reasonable estimates of the central masses to be made of high…
The Standard Model of particle physics assumes that the so-called fundamental constants are universal and unchanging. Absorption lines arising in molecular clouds along quasar sightlines offer a precise test for variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio, mu, over cosmological time and distance scales. The inversion transitions of ammonia are particularly sensitive to mu compared to molecular rotational transitions. Comparing the available ammonia spectra observed towards the quasar B0218+357 with new, high-quality rotational spectra, we present the first detailed measurement of mu with t…
The energy ejected from the galaxy micro-quasar GRS1915+105 in the form of jets is expected to lead to formation of an extended double lobe/hot-spot structure with the energy content comparable to an average supernova remnant. We used the Effelsberg 100m telescope at 10.45 GHz in attempt to identify such structures. For this distant galactic plane source any definite identification was not possible due to high confusion by numerous background sources, however, a few suspect structures were pointed out.
Surveys to find high-redshift radio galaxies deliberately exclude optically-bright objects, which may be distant radio-loud quasars. In order to properly determine the space density of supermassive black holes, the fraction of such objects missed must be determined within a quantitative framework for AGN unification. I briefly describe the receding torus model, which predicts that quasars should have more luminous ionizing continua than radio galaxies of similar radio luminosity, and present evidence to support it. I also suggest two further tests of the model which should constrain some of it…
Updates are provided on several issues related to Unified Models. A new HST spectrum of Cygnus A confirms the broad MgII emission line, and suggests a very large velocity width as seen in the polarized optical lines. Statistics of the 3CR sample are discussed, with emphasis on the role of mid-IR data to distinguish hidden quasars from "nonthermal AGN". A nearly diffraction-limited 10-micron Keck image of 3C390.3 reveals two point sources. A program of Keck longslit spectropolarimetry of distant radio galaxies, radio emitting BALs, and a red quasar is summarized. Most observations can be accoun…
The process of forming an image of a cosmological point source (CPS) in condition of high optical depth is considered accounting for all types of interactions. It is shown that the energy conservation law causes the size of this image which is keeping constant over all redshifts of the CPSs. This effect must be taken into account for the consideration of the angular power spectrum of the CMBR. In particular, distant point sources and small scale fluctuations which were damping before recombination will contribute their energy in the region of angular scale θ_0 \approx 20'.
Supermassive black holes underwent periods of exponential growth during which we seem them as quasars in the distant Universe. The summed emission from these quasars generates the cosmic X-ray background, the spectrum of which has been used to argue that most black-hole growth is obscured. There are clear examples of obscured black-hole growth in the form of `type-2' quasars, but their numbers are fewer than expected from modelling of the X-ray background. Here we report on the direct detection of a population of distant type-2 quasars which is at least comparable in size to the well-known uno…
In their Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 121302 (2004)] (also [Astron. Astrophys. 417, 853 (2004)]), Srianand et al. analysed optical spectra of heavy-element species in 23 absorption systems along background quasar sight-lines, reporting limits on relative variations in the fine-structure constant: da/a=(-0.06+/-0.06) x 10^{-5}. Here we demonstrate basic flaws in their analysis, using the same data and absorption profile fits, which led to spurious values of da/a and significantly underestimated uncertainties. We conclude that these data and fits offer no stringent test of previous evidence for …
Using quasar spectra from the SDSS survey, we constrain the possibility of photon-axion oscillations as a source of dimming of high redshift objects. Such a process has been suggested as an explanation of the apparent faintness of distant Type Ia supernovae. For most combinations of magnetic field strengths and plasma densities along the line of sight, large beam attenuations in broad band filters would also lead to significant differential attenuation, not observed in the quasar sample. However, this conservative study does not exclude the possibility of 0.1 mag dimming of Type Ia supernovae …
We present very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images of ten very high redshift (z>3) quasars at 5 GHz. The sources 0004+139, 0830+101, 0906+041, 0938+119 and 1500+045 were observed in September 1992 using a global VLBI array, while 0046+063, 0243+181, 1338+381, 1428+423 and 1557+032 were observed in October 1996 with the European VLBI Network and Hartebeesthoek, South Africa. Most of the sources are resolved and show asymmetric structure. The sample includes 1428+423, the most distant radio loud quasar known to date (z=4.72). It is barely resolved with an angular resolution of about 2.0*…
We studied the radio structure of high-redshift (z>3) quasars with VSOP at 1.6 and 5 GHz. These sources are the most distant objects ever observed with Space VLBI, at rest-frame frequencies up to ~25 GHz. Here we give an account of the observations and briefly highlight the most interesting cases and results. These observations allowed us, among other things, to estimate the mass of the central black holes powering these quasars, to identify large misalignments between the milli-arcsecond (mas) and sub-mas scale radio structures, and to detect apparent superluminal motion at sub-mas scale.
We present X-ray and optical observations of CXOMP J213945.0-234655, a high redshift (z=4.93) quasar discovered through the Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP). This object is the most distant X-ray selected quasar published, with an X-ray luminosity of L(X)=5.9x10^44 erg/s (measured in the 0.3-2.5 keV band and corrected for Galactic absorption). CXOMP J213945.0-234655 is a g' dropout object (>26.2), with r'=22.87 and i'=21.36. The rest-frame X-ray to optical flux ratio is similar to quasars at lower redshifts and slightly X-ray bright relative to z>4 optically-selected quasars observed wi…
By modeling the rich emission line spectra of a sample of high redshift (HzRG, z\sim 2.5) radio galaxies we find that solar and supersolar metallicities are common in the extended gas of these objects. Our models and the comparison with high redshift quasars suggest that HzRG at z\sim 2.5 are associated with intense star formation activity. This is consistent with chemical evolution models for giant ellipticals and it supports the idea that distant powerful radio galaxies are progenitors of giant ellipticals. We might be witnessing different evolutive status in different objects.
We report on the identification of a new soft gamma ray source, namely IGR J22517+2218, detected with IBIS/INTEGRAL. The source, which has an observed 20-100 keV flux of ~4 x10^-11 erg cm-2 s-1, is spatially coincident with MG3 J225155+2217, a quasar at z=3.668. The Swift/XRT 0.5-10 keV continuum is flat (Gamma=1.5) with evidence for a spectral curvature below 1-2 keV either due to intrinsic absorption (NH=3 +/- 2 x 10^22 cm-2) or to a change in slope (Delta Gamma= 0.5). X-ray observations indicate flux variability over a 6 days period which is further supported by a flux mismatch between Swif…
A crucial test of any cosmological model is the distribution of distant objects such as quasars. Because of well defined selection criteria quasars found by a ultraviolet excess (UVX) survey are ideal candidates for testing the model out to a redshift of z = 2.2. The static cosmology proposed by Crawford (1993) is used to analyse a recent quasar survey (BOYLE et al MNRAS 227, 717 1990). It is shown that the distribution of number of quasars from the survey as a function of redshift is in excellent agreement with the predictions of the model. A V/V_m test on 351 confirmed quasars with defined r…
With a redshift of z=5.5 and an optical blue magnitude M_B ~ -24.2 mag (~4.5 10^12 L_sun), RDJ030117+002025 is the most distant optically faint (M_B > -26 mag) quasar known. MAMBO continuum observations at lambda=1.2 mm (185 micrometer rest-frame) showed that this quasar has a far-IR luminosity comparable to its optical luminosity. We present near-infrared J- and K-band photometry obtained with NIRC on the Keck I telescope, tracing the slope of the rest frame UV spectrum of this quasar. The observed spectral index is close to the value of alpha_nu ~ -0.44 measured in composite spectra of optic…
The Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS) is an optical survey designed to locate quasars during the epoch of reionization. In this paper we present the discovery of the first four CFHQS quasars at redshift greater than 6, including the most distant known quasar, CFHQS J2329-0301 at z=6.43. We describe the observational method used to identify the quasars and present optical, infrared, and millimeter photometry and optical and near-infrared spectroscopy. We investigate the dust properties of these quasars finding an unusual dust extinction curve for one quasar and a high far-infrared lumi…
We discuss color selection of rare objects in a wide-field, multiband survey spanning from the optical to the mid-infrared. Simple color criteria simultaneously identify and distinguish two of the most sought after astrophysical sources: the coolest brown dwarfs and the most distant quasars. We present spectroscopically-confirmed examples of each class identified in the IRAC Shallow Survey of the Bootes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey. ISS J142950.9+333012 is a T4.5 brown dwarf at a distance of approximately 42 pc, and ISS J142738.5+331242 is a radio-loud quasar at redshift z=6.12. Ou…
A population of black holes (BHs) at high redshifts (z>6) that contributes significantly to the ionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) would be accompanied by the copious production of hard (>10keV) X-ray photons. The resulting hard X-ray background would redshift and be observed as a present-day soft X-ray background (SXB). Under the hypothesis that BHs are the main producers of reionizing photons in the high-redshift universe, we calculate their contribution to the present-day SXB. Our results, when compared to the unresolved component of the SXB in the range 0.5-2 keV, suggest that ac…
We report the discovery of five quasars with redshifts of 4.67 - 5.27 and z'-band magnitudes of 19.5-20.7 M_B ~ -27. All were originally selected as distant quasar candidates in optical/near-infrared photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and most were confirmed as probable high-redshift quasars by supplementing the SDSS data with J and K measurements. The quasars possess strong, broad Lyman-alpha emission lines, with the characteristic sharp cutoff on the blue side produced by Lyman-alpha forest absorption. Three quasars contain strong, broad absorption features, and one of them…
Angular correlations of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with cosmologically distant sources may provide clues to these mysterious events. We compare cosmic ray tracks with energies above $ 10^{20}eV$ to a compilation of radio-loud compact QSO positions. The statistical method emphasizes invariant quantities and a test of {\it statistical independence} of track and source distributions. Statistical independence is ruled out by several independent statistics at confidence levels of less that $10^{-3}$ ($99.9% $.), indicating that track directions and QSO source positions are correlated at a highly…
It has been suggested that the fuzzy nature of spacetime at the Planck scale may cause lightwaves to lose phase coherence, and if severe enough this could blur images of distant point-like sources sufficiently that they do not form an Airy pattern at the focal plane of a telescope. Blurring this dramatic has already been observationally ruled out by images from Hubble Space Telescope (HST), but I show that the underlying phenomenon could still be stronger than previously considered. It is harder to detect, which may explain why it has gone unseen. A systematic search is made in archival HST im…
