Cosmology

 "Measurements of Omega and Lambda from 42 High-Redshift Supernovae"

Discovery of cosmic acceleration (by a force given the name "dark energy") based on Type Ia supernovae studies. This paper (Perlmutter et al. 1999) was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. All co-authors shared in the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Cosmic Dust Studies

"Using the X-Ray Dust Scattering Halo of Cygnus X-1 to Determine Distance and Dust Distributions"

Based on a detailed study of Cygnus X-1, this paper demonstrates that with the right determination of dust composition, X-ray scattering halos can be used to determine distances comparable to parallax., Xiang, Jingen; Lee, Julia C.; Nowak, Michael A.; Wilms, Jörn (2011)

"Condensed Matter Astrophysics: A Prescription for Determining the Species-specific Composition and Quantity of Interstellar Dust Using X-rays"

Paper outlining a new technique based in condensed matter theory whereby X-rays can be used as a powerful new tool for determining the quantity and composition of cosmic dust, Lee, Julia C.; Xiang, Jingen; Ravel, Bruce; Kortright, Jeffrey; Flanagan, Kathryn (2009) 

Galactic Black Holes

"A Multiwavelength Study of Cygnus X-1: The First Mid-infrared Spectroscopic Detection of Compact Jets" 

The first spectroscopic measurement of the IR jet break in a micro quasar.  In particular, we show that the 10-micron detected break  associated with the Cygnus X-1 compact jet can be extended to account for the polarized > 200keV Gamma-ray emission.  (Existing IR measurements of jet spectral breaks are  based on less precise photometry measurements, of which there exists only three studies.)   The location of this break,  is an important observable since it is  directly tracked to jet properties (B-field, particle density, relativistic particles, and site of acceleration). Rahoui, Farid; Lee, Julia C.; Heinz, Sebastian; Hines, Dean C.; Pottschmidt, Katja; Wilms, Jörn; Grinberg, Victoria (2011)

 "The Physics of the "Heartbeat" State of GRS 1915+105"

We developed phase-folding techniques for high spectral resolution Chandra HETGS and broadband RXTE data of the ``heart-beat" rho--variability cycle to spectrally reveal, for the first time, accretion disk wind changes on short (5-second!) time-scales, thereby strengthening the Neilsen & Lee 2009  claims for the intimate relationship between disk, jet and wind. (The rho-cycle exhibits a recurring behavior every ~50-100 seconds, resembling Electrocardiogram behavior, which we phase-folded to track, in detail, disk-wind behavior from rise to fall, Neilsen, Joseph; Remillard, Ronald A.; Lee, Julia C. (2011)

"Accretion disk winds as the jet suppression mechanism in the microquasar GRS 1915+105"

This paper demonstrates for the first time through spectra the intimate wind-jet relationship in the Galactic black hole binary GRS~1915+105, whereby the jet and wind compete for the same matter supply. The wind-jet model originating from this work (and subsequent follow-up detailed spectral variability studies of GRS 1915) is now proving to be generically applicable to black hole X-ray binaries., Neilsen & Lee (2009)

Supermassive Black Holes

"Revealing the Dusty Warm Absorber in MCG -6-30-15 with the Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating"

This paper was the first to demonstrate that cosmic dust can be directly measured using X-rays. Lee et al. (2001)