High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data

Xiaohui Fan; Michael A. Strauss; Donald P. Schneider; James E. Gunn; Robert H. Lupton; Brian Yanny; Scott F. Anderson; John E. Anderson; James Annis; Neta A. Bahcall; J. A. Bakken; Steven Bastian; Eileen Berman; William N. Boroski; Charlie Briegel; John W. Briggs; J. Brinkmann; Michael A. Carr; Patrick L. Colestock; A. J. Connolly; J. H. Crocker; István Csabai; Paul C. Czarapata; John Eric Davis; Mamoru Doi; Brian R. Elms; Michael L. Evans; Glenn R. Federwitz; Joshua A. Frieman; Masataka Fukugita; Vijay K. Gurbani; Frederick H. Harris; Timothy M. Heckman; G. S. Hennessy; Robert B. Hindsley; Donald J. Holmgren; Charles Hull; Shin Ichi Ichikawa; Takashi Ichikawa; Željko Ivezić; Stephen Kent; G. R. Knapp; Richard G. Kron; D. Q. Lamb; R. French Leger; Siriluk Limmongkol; Carl Lindenmeyer; Daniel C. Long; Jon Loveday; Bryan MacKinnon; Edward J. Mannery; P. M. Mantsch; Bruce Margon; Timothy A. McKay; Jeffrey A. Munn; Thomas Nash; Heidi Jo Newberg; R. C. Nichol; Tom Nicinski; Sadanori Okamura; Jeremiah P. Ostriker; Russell Owen; A. George Pauls; John Peoples; Donald Petravick; Jeffrey R. Pier; Ruth Pordes; Angela Prosapio; Ron Rechenmacher; Gordon T. Richards; Michael W. Richmond; Claudio H. Rivetta; Constance M. Rockosi; Dale Sandford; Gary Sergey; Maki Sekiguchi; Kazuhiro Shimasaku; Walter A. Siegmund; J. Allyn Smith; Chris Stoughton; Alexander S. Szalay; Gyula P. Szokoly; Douglas L. Tucker; Michael S. Vogeley; Patrick Waddell; Shu I. Wang; David H. Weinberg; Naoki Yasuda; Donald G. York

doi:10.1086/300944

High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data

Xiaohui Fan, Michael A. Strauss, Donald P. Schneider, James E. Gunn, Robert H. Lupton, Brian Yanny, Scott F. Anderson, John E. Anderson, James Annis, Neta A. Bahcall, J. A. Bakken, Steven Bastian, Eileen Berman, William N. Boroski, Charlie Briegel, John W. Briggs, J. Brinkmann, Michael A. Carr, Patrick L. Colestock, A. J. ConnollyJ. H. Crocker, István Csabai, Paul C. Czarapata, John Eric Davis, Mamoru Doi, Brian R. Elms, Michael L. Evans, Glenn R. Federwitz, Joshua A. Frieman, Masataka Fukugita, Vijay K. Gurbani, Frederick H. Harris, Timothy M. Heckman, G. S. Hennessy, Robert B. Hindsley, Donald J. Holmgren, Charles Hull, Shin Ichi Ichikawa, Takashi Ichikawa, Željko Ivezić, Stephen Kent, G. R. Knapp, Richard G. Kron, D. Q. Lamb, R. French Leger, Siriluk Limmongkol, Carl Lindenmeyer, Daniel C. Long, Jon Loveday, Bryan MacKinnon, Edward J. Mannery, P. M. Mantsch, Bruce Margon, Timothy A. McKay, Jeffrey A. Munn, Thomas Nash, Heidi Jo Newberg, R. C. Nichol, Tom Nicinski, Sadanori Okamura, Jeremiah P. Ostriker, Russell Owen, A. George Pauls, John Peoples, Donald Petravick, Jeffrey R. Pier, Ruth Pordes, Angela Prosapio, Ron Rechenmacher, Gordon T. Richards, Michael W. Richmond, Claudio H. Rivetta, Constance M. Rockosi, Dale Sandford, Gary Sergey, Maki Sekiguchi, Kazuhiro Shimasaku, Walter A. Siegmund, J. Allyn Smith, Chris Stoughton, Alexander S. Szalay, Gyula P. Szokoly, Douglas L. Tucker, Michael S. Vogeley, Patrick Waddell, Shu I. Wang, David H. Weinberg, Naoki Yasuda, Donald G. York

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of 15 high-redshift quasars (z > 3.6) discovered from ∼140 deg² of five-color (u′, g′, r′, i′, and z′) imaging data taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. The quasars are selected by their distinctive colors in SDSS multicolor space. Four of the quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z = 4.63, 4.75, 4.90, and 5.00, the latter being the highest redshift quasar yet known). In addition, two previously known z > 4 objects were recovered from the data. The quasars all have i* < 20 and have luminosities comparable to that of 3C 273. The spectra of the quasars have similar features (strong, broad emission lines and substantial absorption blueward of the Lyα emission line) seen in previously known high-redshift quasars. Although the photometric accuracy and image quality fail to meet the final survey requirements, our success rate for identifying high-redshift quasars (17 quasars from 27 candidates) is much higher than that of previous multicolor surveys. However, the numbers of high-redshift quasars found is in close accord with the number density inferred from previous surveys.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1-13
Number of pages	13
Journal	Astronomical Journal
Volume	118
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1086/300944
State	Published - Jul 1999
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Quasars: general

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

Online availability

10.1086/300944

Library availability

Discover UIUC Full Text

Cite this

Fan, X., Strauss, M. A., Schneider, D. P., Gunn, J. E., Lupton, R. H., Yanny, B., Anderson, S. F., Anderson, J. E., Annis, J., Bahcall, N. A., Bakken, J. A., Bastian, S., Berman, E., Boroski, W. N., Briegel, C., Briggs, J. W., Brinkmann, J., Carr, M. A., Colestock, P. L., ... York, D. G. (1999). High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data. Astronomical Journal, 118(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1086/300944

Fan, X, Strauss, MA, Schneider, DP, Gunn, JE, Lupton, RH, Yanny, B, Anderson, SF, Anderson, JE, Annis, J, Bahcall, NA, Bakken, JA, Bastian, S, Berman, E, Boroski, WN, Briegel, C, Briggs, JW, Brinkmann, J, Carr, MA, Colestock, PL, Connolly, AJ, Crocker, JH, Csabai, I, Czarapata, PC, Davis, JE, Doi, M, Elms, BR, Evans, ML, Federwitz, GR, Frieman, JA, Fukugita, M, Gurbani, VK, Harris, FH, Heckman, TM, Hennessy, GS, Hindsley, RB, Holmgren, DJ, Hull, C, Ichikawa, SI, Ichikawa, T, Ivezić, Ž, Kent, S, Knapp, GR, Kron, RG, Lamb, DQ, Leger, RF, Limmongkol, S, Lindenmeyer, C, Long, DC, Loveday, J, MacKinnon, B, Mannery, EJ, Mantsch, PM, Margon, B, McKay, TA, Munn, JA, Nash, T, Newberg, HJ, Nichol, RC, Nicinski, T, Okamura, S, Ostriker, JP, Owen, R, Pauls, AG, Peoples, J, Petravick, D, Pier, JR, Pordes, R, Prosapio, A, Rechenmacher, R, Richards, GT, Richmond, MW, Rivetta, CH, Rockosi, CM, Sandford, D, Sergey, G, Sekiguchi, M, Shimasaku, K, Siegmund, WA, Smith, JA, Stoughton, C, Szalay, AS, Szokoly, GP, Tucker, DL, Vogeley, MS, Waddell, P, Wang, SI, Weinberg, DH, Yasuda, N & York, DG 1999, 'High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data', Astronomical Journal, vol. 118, no. 1, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1086/300944

@article{52c794ea61554e6c8ad5498fa6df8da3,

title = "High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data",

abstract = "We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of 15 high-redshift quasars (z > 3.6) discovered from ∼140 deg2 of five-color (u′, g′, r′, i′, and z′) imaging data taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. The quasars are selected by their distinctive colors in SDSS multicolor space. Four of the quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z = 4.63, 4.75, 4.90, and 5.00, the latter being the highest redshift quasar yet known). In addition, two previously known z > 4 objects were recovered from the data. The quasars all have i* < 20 and have luminosities comparable to that of 3C 273. The spectra of the quasars have similar features (strong, broad emission lines and substantial absorption blueward of the Lyα emission line) seen in previously known high-redshift quasars. Although the photometric accuracy and image quality fail to meet the final survey requirements, our success rate for identifying high-redshift quasars (17 quasars from 27 candidates) is much higher than that of previous multicolor surveys. However, the numbers of high-redshift quasars found is in close accord with the number density inferred from previous surveys.",

keywords = "Quasars: general",

author = "Xiaohui Fan and Strauss, {Michael A.} and Schneider, {Donald P.} and Gunn, {James E.} and Lupton, {Robert H.} and Brian Yanny and Anderson, {Scott F.} and Anderson, {John E.} and James Annis and Bahcall, {Neta A.} and Bakken, {J. A.} and Steven Bastian and Eileen Berman and Boroski, {William N.} and Charlie Briegel and Briggs, {John W.} and J. Brinkmann and Carr, {Michael A.} and Colestock, {Patrick L.} and Connolly, {A. J.} and Crocker, {J. H.} and Istv{\'a}n Csabai and Czarapata, {Paul C.} and Davis, {John Eric} and Mamoru Doi and Elms, {Brian R.} and Evans, {Michael L.} and Federwitz, {Glenn R.} and Frieman, {Joshua A.} and Masataka Fukugita and Gurbani, {Vijay K.} and Harris, {Frederick H.} and Heckman, {Timothy M.} and Hennessy, {G. S.} and Hindsley, {Robert B.} and Holmgren, {Donald J.} and Charles Hull and Ichikawa, {Shin Ichi} and Takashi Ichikawa and {\v Z}eljko Ivezi{\'c} and Stephen Kent and Knapp, {G. R.} and Kron, {Richard G.} and Lamb, {D. Q.} and Leger, {R. French} and Siriluk Limmongkol and Carl Lindenmeyer and Long, {Daniel C.} and Jon Loveday and Bryan MacKinnon and Mannery, {Edward J.} and Mantsch, {P. M.} and Bruce Margon and McKay, {Timothy A.} and Munn, {Jeffrey A.} and Thomas Nash and Newberg, {Heidi Jo} and Nichol, {R. C.} and Tom Nicinski and Sadanori Okamura and Ostriker, {Jeremiah P.} and Russell Owen and Pauls, {A. George} and John Peoples and Donald Petravick and Pier, {Jeffrey R.} and Ruth Pordes and Angela Prosapio and Ron Rechenmacher and Richards, {Gordon T.} and Richmond, {Michael W.} and Rivetta, {Claudio H.} and Rockosi, {Constance M.} and Dale Sandford and Gary Sergey and Maki Sekiguchi and Kazuhiro Shimasaku and Siegmund, {Walter A.} and Smith, {J. Allyn} and Chris Stoughton and Szalay, {Alexander S.} and Szokoly, {Gyula P.} and Tucker, {Douglas L.} and Vogeley, {Michael S.} and Patrick Waddell and Wang, {Shu I.} and Weinberg, {David H.} and Naoki Yasuda and York, {Donald G.}",

year = "1999",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1086/300944",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "118",

pages = "1--13",

journal = "Astronomical Journal",

issn = "0004-6256",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data

AU - Fan, Xiaohui

AU - Strauss, Michael A.

AU - Schneider, Donald P.

AU - Gunn, James E.

AU - Lupton, Robert H.

AU - Yanny, Brian

AU - Anderson, Scott F.

AU - Anderson, John E.

AU - Annis, James

AU - Bahcall, Neta A.

AU - Bakken, J. A.

AU - Bastian, Steven

AU - Berman, Eileen

AU - Boroski, William N.

AU - Briegel, Charlie

AU - Briggs, John W.

AU - Brinkmann, J.

AU - Carr, Michael A.

AU - Colestock, Patrick L.

AU - Connolly, A. J.

AU - Crocker, J. H.

AU - Csabai, István

AU - Czarapata, Paul C.

AU - Davis, John Eric

AU - Doi, Mamoru

AU - Elms, Brian R.

AU - Evans, Michael L.

AU - Federwitz, Glenn R.

AU - Frieman, Joshua A.

AU - Fukugita, Masataka

AU - Gurbani, Vijay K.

AU - Harris, Frederick H.

AU - Heckman, Timothy M.

AU - Hennessy, G. S.

AU - Hindsley, Robert B.

AU - Holmgren, Donald J.

AU - Hull, Charles

AU - Ichikawa, Shin Ichi

AU - Ichikawa, Takashi

AU - Ivezić, Željko

AU - Kent, Stephen

AU - Knapp, G. R.

AU - Kron, Richard G.

AU - Lamb, D. Q.

AU - Leger, R. French

AU - Limmongkol, Siriluk

AU - Lindenmeyer, Carl

AU - Long, Daniel C.

AU - Loveday, Jon

AU - MacKinnon, Bryan

AU - Mannery, Edward J.

AU - Mantsch, P. M.

AU - Margon, Bruce

AU - McKay, Timothy A.

AU - Munn, Jeffrey A.

AU - Nash, Thomas

AU - Newberg, Heidi Jo

AU - Nichol, R. C.

AU - Nicinski, Tom

AU - Okamura, Sadanori

AU - Ostriker, Jeremiah P.

AU - Owen, Russell

AU - Pauls, A. George

AU - Peoples, John

AU - Petravick, Donald

AU - Pier, Jeffrey R.

AU - Pordes, Ruth

AU - Prosapio, Angela

AU - Rechenmacher, Ron

AU - Richards, Gordon T.

AU - Richmond, Michael W.

AU - Rivetta, Claudio H.

AU - Rockosi, Constance M.

AU - Sandford, Dale

AU - Sergey, Gary

AU - Sekiguchi, Maki

AU - Shimasaku, Kazuhiro

AU - Siegmund, Walter A.

AU - Smith, J. Allyn

AU - Stoughton, Chris

AU - Szalay, Alexander S.

AU - Szokoly, Gyula P.

AU - Tucker, Douglas L.

AU - Vogeley, Michael S.

AU - Waddell, Patrick

AU - Wang, Shu I.

AU - Weinberg, David H.

AU - Yasuda, Naoki

AU - York, Donald G.

PY - 1999/7

Y1 - 1999/7

N2 - We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of 15 high-redshift quasars (z > 3.6) discovered from ∼140 deg2 of five-color (u′, g′, r′, i′, and z′) imaging data taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. The quasars are selected by their distinctive colors in SDSS multicolor space. Four of the quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z = 4.63, 4.75, 4.90, and 5.00, the latter being the highest redshift quasar yet known). In addition, two previously known z > 4 objects were recovered from the data. The quasars all have i* < 20 and have luminosities comparable to that of 3C 273. The spectra of the quasars have similar features (strong, broad emission lines and substantial absorption blueward of the Lyα emission line) seen in previously known high-redshift quasars. Although the photometric accuracy and image quality fail to meet the final survey requirements, our success rate for identifying high-redshift quasars (17 quasars from 27 candidates) is much higher than that of previous multicolor surveys. However, the numbers of high-redshift quasars found is in close accord with the number density inferred from previous surveys.

AB - We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of 15 high-redshift quasars (z > 3.6) discovered from ∼140 deg2 of five-color (u′, g′, r′, i′, and z′) imaging data taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. The quasars are selected by their distinctive colors in SDSS multicolor space. Four of the quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z = 4.63, 4.75, 4.90, and 5.00, the latter being the highest redshift quasar yet known). In addition, two previously known z > 4 objects were recovered from the data. The quasars all have i* < 20 and have luminosities comparable to that of 3C 273. The spectra of the quasars have similar features (strong, broad emission lines and substantial absorption blueward of the Lyα emission line) seen in previously known high-redshift quasars. Although the photometric accuracy and image quality fail to meet the final survey requirements, our success rate for identifying high-redshift quasars (17 quasars from 27 candidates) is much higher than that of previous multicolor surveys. However, the numbers of high-redshift quasars found is in close accord with the number density inferred from previous surveys.

KW - Quasars: general

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=17544402824&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=17544402824&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1086/300944

DO - 10.1086/300944

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:17544402824

SN - 0004-6256

VL - 118

SP - 1

EP - 13

JO - Astronomical Journal

JF - Astronomical Journal

IS - 1

ER -

High-redshift quasars found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Online availability

Library availability

Related links

Fingerprint

Cite this