Fifty Years of Quasars

Explore the evolution and impact of quasars in this comprehensive 11-hour lecture series from the California Institute of Technology. Delve into the discovery of quasars, their luminosity functions, and high-redshift evolution. Examine the relationship between quasars and X-ray backgrounds, black hole demographics, and galaxy co-evolution. Investigate quasar masses, broad emission lines, outflows, and jet formation. Learn about blazars, obscured quasars, and their role in probing the intergalactic medium. Gain insights into gravitational forces and 3-space curvature through thought experiments. Conclude with public lectures on black holes, the fate of the universe, and the multiverse, presented by renowned experts in the field.

Opening Remarks - M. Cohen, G. Djorgovski, T. Soifer.
The Discovery of Quasars - Maarten Schmidt.
The Road to Quasars - Ken Kellermann.
The Quasar Luminosity Function, Then and Now - R. Green.
Quasar Evolution at High Redshifts - D. Schneider.
Quasars and the Origins of the X-Ray Background - G. Hasinger.
Black Hole Demographics in Active and Inactive Galaxies - L. Ho.
The First AGN Results from NuSTAR - F. Harrison.
The Masses of Quasars - B. Peterson.
The First Black Holes - M. Volonteri.
The Monster Roars: Feedback and the Co-Evolution of Galaxies and Black Holes - P. Hopkins.
The broad emission lines of quasars - M. Eracleous.
Quasar outflows: historical overview and importance to AGN feedback - N. Arav.
Jet Formation - R. Blandford.
Blazars as Probes of Relativistic Jets - M. Urry.
Obscured Quasars - D. Stern.
Quasars as Probes of the IGM - A. Boksenberg.
Thought experiments on gravitational forces and 3-space curvature - D. Lynden-Bell.
Public Lecture - Black Holes and the Fate of the Universe - G. Hasinger.
Public Lecture: From Mars to the Multiverse - M. Rees.