Optical Continuum Sources in Gravitationally Lensed Quasars

Abstract

We review some techniques to study the nature and size of the optical continuum sources in multiple QSOs. We focus on the source originating the events with several months timescale (the rapid variability source) as well as the source that is responsible for the non-variable background component (the background source). The techniques are used to study both the rapid variability source in Q0957+561 and the main (compact) background source in Q2237+0305.