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.