Timo Anguita

Associate Professor at Universidad Andrés Bello (Santiago)

tanguita [at] gmail.com

I am an Astronomy Professor at the Astrophysics Institute of Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB). My research is mostly targeted at probing different astrophysical phenomena using Strong Gravitational Lensing. Although not exclusively, the main targets of my research are galaxy scale lenses, both galaxies and quasars to study galaxy structure and evolution, cosmography with lensed AGN time delays, inner milliparsec structure of background AGN with microlensing, etc. Some specific projects (and links) are listed below. Check here for a publication list.

Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)

I have been involved in several activities with the Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). I am a member of the Galaxies, Dark Energy and Strong Lensing Science collaborations; I have served as member of the LSST Science Advisory Committee and have been co-chair of the Strong Lensing Science Collaboration since 2019. I have participated and am actively participating in several specific efforts for LSST strong lensing science including commissioning, the development of the strong lensing pipeline, candidate follow-up with 4MOST (ChANGES and 4SLSLS) and optimizing the observing strategy (including serving as an editor of the original Science-Driven Optimization of the LSST Observing Strategy whitepaper, authoring a cadence note, metric contributions and have recently been appointed to join the Survey Cadence Optimization Committee in early 2023)

Finding, Confirming and Following up Lensed Quasars (STRIDES)

For the different applications of lensed quasars (see examples below), data for a sizeable number of lensed quasars needs to be available. However, progress in the field has been limited by the paucity of systems with good ancillary data. As the STRong-lensing Insights into the Dark Energy Survey (STRIDES) (which I am co-PI of) we have set out to find previously undiscovered lensed quasars in new, deep, wide-field surveys and obtain high resolution imaging and spectroscopy to create accurate lens models.

Quasar Microlensing

Individual stars in lensing galaxies projected on top of the "macro" lensed images of a lensed quasar can produce an additional "second order" magnification known as (quasar) microlensing. A significant part of my research has been devoted to fitting the observational signatures of microlensing to simulations to probe the nature of both lensing galaxies and background AGN. The statistical analysis of observational signatures of this dynamic phenomenon allows to study the mass function (stars and DM) and dynamics of lensing galaxies (0.01<z<1.0). Additionally, due to the angular and physical scales involved in the typical quasar microlensing scenario it allows to measure the inner milli-pc structure of AGN, both the accretion disk and the broad line region.



Time Delay Cosmography

Future of Quasar Lensing

Schmidt Futures