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Description
We explore the multidimensional, multiwavelength selection of quasars from mid-infrared (MIR) plus optical data, specifically from Spitzer-Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Traditionally, quasar selection relies on cuts in two-dimensional color space despite the fact that most modern surveys (optical and IR) are done in more than three bandpasses. In this paper, we apply modern statistical techniques to combined Spitzer MIR and SDSS optical data, allowing up to eight-dimensional (8-D) color selection of quasars. Using a Bayesian selection method, we catalog 5546 quasar candidates to an 8.0{mu}m depth of 56{mu}Jy over an area of ~24{deg}^2^. Roughly 70% of these candidates are not identified by applying the same Bayesian algorithm to 4-color SDSS optical data alone. The 8-D optical+MIR selection on this data set recovers 97.7% of known type 1 quasars in this area and greatly improves the effectiveness of identifying 3.5<z<5 quasars which are challenging to identify (without considerable contamination) using MIR data alone.
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