JOE HENNAWI, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

PRINCETON ASTRONOMY COLLOQUIUM - MARCH 16, 2004

ABSTRACT

Close Pairs of Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

The number of close < 60" quasar pairs is over two orders of magnitude larger than expected from extrapolations of the quasar correlation function to small scales. We have already nearly doubled the number of known close quasar pairs, and preliminary results will be highlighted. I will discuss observational strategies for finding close pairs and the manifold science motivations, including quasar clustering, the search for strong gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies, and using
close pairs of quasars to study the Lyman alpha forest and the IGM.