We present the final spectroscopic QSO catalogue from the 2dF-SDSS LRG (luminous red galaxy) and QSO (2SLAQ) survey. This is a deep, 18<g<21.85 (extinction corrected), sample aimed at probing in detail the faint end of the broad line active galactic nuclei luminosity distribution at z<=2.6. The candidate QSOs were selected from SDSS photometry and observed spectroscopically with the 2dF spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This sample covers an area of 191.9 deg2 and contains new spectra of 16326 objects, of which 8764 are QSOs and 7623 are newly discovered [the remainder were previously identified by the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ) and SDSS]. The full QSO sample (including objects previously observed in the SDSS and 2QZ surveys) contains 12702 QSOs. The new 2SLAQ spectroscopic data set also contains 2343 Galactic stars, including 362 white dwarfs, and 2924 narrow emission-line galaxies with a median redshift of z=0.22.
In this work, we report and discuss the detection of two distant diffuse stellar groups in the third Galactic quadrant. They are composed of young stars, with spectral types ranging from late O to late B, and lie at galactocentric distances between 15 and 20kpc. These groups are located in the area of two cataloged open clusters (VdB-Hagen 04 and Ruprecht 30), projected toward the Vela-Puppis constellations, and within the core of the Canis Major overdensity. Their reddening and distances have been estimated by analyzing their color-color and color-magnitude diagrams, derived from deep UBV photometry. The existence of young star aggregates at such extreme distances from the Galactic center challenges the commonly accepted scenario in which the Galactic disk has a sharp cutoff at about 14kpc from the Galactic center and indicates that it extends to much greater distances (as also supported by the recent detection of CO molecular complexes well beyond this distance). While the groups we find in the area of Ruprecht 30 are compatible with the Orion and Norma-Cygnus spiral arms, respectively, the distant group we identify in the region of VdB-Hagen 04 lies in the external regions of the Norma-Cygnus arm, at a galactocentric distance (~20kpc) where no young stars have been detected so far in the optical.
We analyze radial velocity observations of the 12 extremely low-mass (ELM), with <=0.25M_{sun}_, white dwarfs (WDs) in the MMT Hypervelocity Star Survey. Eleven of the twelve WDs are binaries with orbital periods shorter than 14hr; the one non-variable WD is possibly a pole-on system among our non-kinematically selected targets. Our sample is unique: it is complete in a well-defined range of apparent magnitude and color. The orbital mass functions imply that the unseen companions are most likely other WDs, although neutron star companions cannot be excluded. Six of the eleven systems with orbital solutions will merge within a Hubble time due to the loss of angular momentum through gravitational wave radiation. The quickest merger is J0923+3028, a g=15.7 ELM WD binary with a 1.08hr orbital period and a <=130Myr merger time. The chance of a supernova Ia event among our ELM WDs is only 1%-7%, however. Three binary systems (J0755+4906, J1233+1602, and J2119-0018) have extreme mass ratios and will most likely form stable mass-transfer AM CVn systems. Two of these objects, SDSS J1233+1602 and J2119-0018, are the lowest surface gravity WDs ever found; both show CaII absorption likely from accretion of circumbinary material. We predict that at least one of our WDs is an eclipsing detached double WD system, important for constraining helium core WD models.
We present the final sample of 98 detached double white dwarf (WD) binaries found in the Extremely Low Mass (ELM) Survey, a spectroscopic survey targeting <0.3M_{sun}_ He-core WDs completed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint. Over the course of the survey we observed ancillary low-mass WD candidates like GD 278, which we show is a P=0.19d double WD binary, as well as candidates that turn out to be field blue straggler/subdwarf A-type stars with luminosities too high to be WDs given their Gaia parallaxes. Here, we define a clean sample of ELM WDs that is complete within our target selection and magnitude range 15<g_0_<20mag. The measurements are consistent with 100% of ELM WDs being 0.0089<P<1.5d double WD binaries, 35% of which belong to the Galactic halo. We infer that these are mostly He+CO WD binaries given the measurement constraints. The merger rate of the observed He+CO WD binaries exceeds the formation rate of stable mass-transfer AM CVn binaries by a factor of 25, and so the majority of He+CO WD binaries must experience unstable mass transfer and merge. The systems with the shortest periods, such as J0651+2844, are signature LISA verification binaries that can be studied with gravitational waves and light.
We present the discovery of 15 extremely low-mass (5<logg<7) white dwarf (WD) candidates, 9 of which are in ultra-compact double-degenerate binaries. Our targeted extremely low-mass Survey sample now includes 76 binaries. The sample has a lognormal distribution of orbital periods with a median period of 5.4hr. The velocity amplitudes imply that the binary companions have a normal distribution of mass with 0.76 M_{sun}_ mean and 0.25M_{sun}_ dispersion. Thus extremely low-mass WDs are found in binaries with a typical mass ratio of 1:4. Statistically speaking, 95% of the WD binaries have a total mass below the Chandrasekhar mass, and thus are not type Ia supernova progenitors. Yet half of the observed binaries will merge in less than 6Gyr due to gravitational wave radiation; probable outcomes include single massive WDs and stable mass transfer AM CVn binaries.
We present the discovery of 17 low-mass white dwarfs (WDs) in short-period (P<=1 day) binaries. Our sample includes four objects with remarkable logg=~5 surface gravities and orbital solutions that require them to be double degenerate binaries. All of the lowest surface gravity WDs have metal lines in their spectra implying long gravitational settling times or ongoing accretion. Notably, six of the WDs in our sample have binary merger times <10Gyr. Four have >~0.9M_{sun}_ companions. If the companions are massive WDs, these four binaries will evolve into stable mass transfer AM CVn systems and possibly explode as underluminous supernovae. If the companions are neutron stars, then these may be millisecond pulsar binaries. These discoveries increase the number of detached, double degenerate binaries in the Extremely low mass (ELM) Survey to 54; 31 of these binaries will merge within a Hubble time.
We present the North Galactic Cap sample of the Extremely Luminous Quasar Survey (ELQS-N), which targets quasars with M_1450_{<}-27 at 2.8<=z<5 in an area of ~7600deg^2^ of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint with 90{deg}<RA<270{deg}. Based on a near-infrared/infrared JKW2 color cut, the ELQS selection efficiently uses random forest methods to classify quasars and to estimate photometric redshifts; this scheme overcomes some of the difficulties of pure optical quasar selection at z~3. As a result, we retain a completeness of >70% over z~3.0-5.0 at m_i_<~17.5, limited toward fainter magnitudes by the depth of the Two Micron All Sky Survey. The presented quasar catalog consists of a total of 270 objects, of which 39 are newly identified in this work with spectroscopy obtained at the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope and the MMT 6.5m telescope. In addition to the high completeness, which allowed us to discover new quasars in the already well-surveyed SDSS North Galactic Cap, the efficiency of our selection is relatively high at ~79%. Using 120 objects of this quasar sample we are able to extend the previously measured optical quasar luminosity function (QLF) by one magnitude toward the bright end at 2.8<=z<=4.5. A first analysis of the QLF suggests a relatively steep bright-end slope of {beta}~-4 for this sample. This result contrasts with previous results in the same redshift range, which find a much flatter slope around {beta}~-2.5, but agrees with recent measurements of the bright-end slope at lower and higher redshifts. Our results constrain the bright-end slope at z=2.8-4.5 to {beta}{<}-2.94 with a 99% confidence.
We present the results of the Extremely Luminous Quasar Survey in the 3{pi} survey of the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS; PS1). This effort applies the successful quasar selection strategy of the Extremely Luminous Survey in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint (~12000deg^2^) to a much larger area (~21486deg^2^). This spectroscopic survey targets the most luminous quasars (M_1450_<=-26.5; m_i_<=18.5) at intermediate redshifts (z>=2.8). Candidates are selected based on a near-infrared JKW2 color cut using WISE AllWISE and 2MASS photometry to mainly reject stellar contaminants. Photometric redshifts (z_reg_) and star-quasar classifications for each candidate are calculated from near-infrared and optical photometry using the supervised machine learning technique random forests. We select 806 quasar candidates at z_reg_>=2.8 from a parent sample of 74318 sources. After exclusion of known sources and rejection of candidates with unreliable photometry, we have taken optical identification spectra for 290 of our 334 good PS-ELQS candidates. We report the discovery of 190 new z>=2.8 quasars and an additional 28 quasars at lower redshifts. A total of 44 good PS-ELQS candidates remain unobserved. Including all known quasars at z>=2.8, our quasar selection method has a selection efficiency of at least 77%. At lower declinations, -30<=DEC<=0, we approximately treble the known population of extremely luminous quasars. We provide the PS-ELQS quasar catalog with a total of 592 luminous quasars (m_i_<=18.5, z>=2.8). This unique sample will not only be able to provide constraints on the volume density and quasar clustering of extremely luminous quasars, but also offers valuable targets for studies of the intergalactic medium.
We present a new catalog of galaxies in the wider region of the Virgo cluster, based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7. The Extended Virgo Cluster Catalog (EVCC) covers an area of 725deg^2^ or 60.1Mpc^2^. It is 5.2 times larger than the footprint of the classical Virgo Cluster Catalog (VCC) and reaches out to 3.5 times the virial radius of the Virgo cluster. We selected 1324 spectroscopically targeted galaxies with radial velocities less than 3000km/s. In addition, 265 galaxies that have been overlooked in the SDSS spectroscopic survey but have available redshifts in the NASA Extragalactic Database are also included. Our selection process secured a total of 1589 galaxies, 676 of which are not included in the VCC. The certain and possible cluster members are defined by means of redshift comparison with a cluster infall model. We employed two independent and complementary galaxy classification schemes: the traditional morphological classification based on the visual inspection of optical images and a characterization of galaxies from their spectroscopic features. SDSS u, g, r, i, and z passband photometry of all EVCC galaxies was performed using Source Extractor. We compare the EVCC galaxies with the VCC in terms of morphology, spatial distribution, and luminosity function. The EVCC defines a comprehensive galaxy sample covering a wider range in galaxy density that is significantly different from the inner region of the Virgo cluster. It will be the foundation for forthcoming galaxy evolution studies in the extended Virgo cluster region, complementing ongoing and planned Virgo cluster surveys at various wavelengths.
We summarize the results of our 4yr survey searching for Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud. Over the course of this survey we have discovered 15 new WR stars and 12 Of-type stars. In this last year we discovered two rare Of-type stars: an O6.5f?p and an O6nfp, in addition to the two new Of?p stars discovered in our first year and the three Onfp stars discovered in our second and third years. However, even more exciting was our discovery of a new type of WR star, ones we are calling WN3/O3s owing to their spectroscopic signatures. We describe the completeness limits of our survey and demonstrate that we are sensitive to weak-lined WRs several magnitudes fainter than any we have discovered, arguing that there is not a population of fainter WRs waiting to be discovered. We discuss the nature of the WN3/O3s, summarizing the results of our extensive spectroscopy and modeling. We also examine the important claim made by others that the WN3/O3s are isolated compared to other massive stars. We find that if we use a more complete sample of reference massive stars, the WN3/O3s show the same spatial distribution as other early WNs, consistent with a common origin. Finally, we use this opportunity to present the "Fifth Catalog of LMC Wolf-Rayet Stars," which includes revised coordinates and updated spectral types for all 154 known LMC WRs.
