We present the second public data release of the VISTA EXtension to Auxiliary Surveys (VEXAS DR2), where we classify objects into stars, galaxies and quasars based on an ensemble of machine learning algorithms. The aim of VEXAS is to build the widest multi-wavelength catalogue, providing reference magnitudes, colours and morphological information for a large number of scientific uses. We apply an ensemble of thirty-two different machine learning models, based on three different algorithms and on different magnitude sets, training samples and classification problems (two or three classes) on the three VEXAS Data Release 1 (DR1) optical+infrared (IR) tables. The tables were created in DR1 cross-matching VISTA near-infrared data with Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer far-infrared data and with optical magnitudes from the Dark Energy Survey (VEXAS-DESW), the Sky Mapper Survey (VEXAS-SMW), and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System Survey (VEXAS-PSW). We assemble a large table of spectroscopically confirmed objects (VEXAS-SPEC-GOOD, 415 628 unique objects), based on the combination of six different spectroscopic surveys that we use for training. We develop feature imputation to classify also objects for which magnitudes in one or more bands are missing. We classify in total 90106 objects in the Southern Hemisphere. Among these, ~62.9x10^6^ (~52.6x10^6^) are classified as 'high confidence' ('secure') stars, ~920000 (~750000) as 'high confidence' ('secure') quasars and ~34.8 (~34.1) millions as 'high confidence' ('secure') galaxies, with pclass>=0.7 (pclass>=0.9). The DR2 tables update the DR1 with the addition of imputed magnitudes and membership probabilities to each of the three classes. The density of high-confidence extragalactic objects varies strongly with the survey depth: at pclass>0.7; there are 111/deg^2^ quasars in the VEXAS-DESW footprint and 103/deg^2^ in the VEXAS-PSW footprint, while only 10.7/deg^2^ in the VEXASSM footprint. Improved depth in the midIR and coverage in the optical and nearIR are needed for the SM footprint that is not already covered by DESW and PSW.
We present the first Public Data Release (PDR-1) of the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Survey (VIPERS). It comprises 57204 spectroscopic measurements together with all additional information necessary for optimal scientific exploitation of the data, in particular the associated photometric measurements and quantification of the photometric and survey completeness. VIPERS is an ESO Large Programme designed to build a spectroscopic sample of =~100000 galaxies with i_AB_<22.5 and 0.5<z<1.2 with high sampling rate (=~45%). The survey spectroscopic targets are selected from the CFHTLS-Wide five-band catalogues in the W1 and W4 fields. The final survey will cover a total area of nearly 24 deg^2^, for a total comoving volume between z=0.5 and 1.2 of =~4x10^7^(Mpc/h)^3^ and a median galaxy redshift of z=~0.8. The release presented in this paper includes data from virtually the entire W4 field and nearly half of the W1 area, thus representing 64% of the final dataset. We provide a detailed description of sample selection, observations and data reduction procedures; we summarise the global properties of the spectroscopic catalogue and explain the associated data products and their use, and provide all the details for accessing the data through the survey database (http://vipers.inaf.it) where all information can be queried interactively.
This paper describes the first data release (DR1) of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). The VUDS-DR1 is the release of all low-resolution spectroscopic data obtained in 276.9 arcmin^2^ of the CANDELS-COSMOS and CANDELS-ECDFS survey areas, including accurate spectroscopic redshifts z_spec_ and individual spectra obtained with VIMOS on the ESO-VLT. A total of 698 objects have a measured redshift, with 677 galaxies, two type-I AGN, and a small number of 19 contaminating stars. The targets of the spectroscopic survey are selected primarily on the basis of their photometric redshifts to ensure a broad population coverage. About 500 galaxies have z_spec_>2, 48of which have z_spec_>4; the highest reliable redshifts reach beyond z_spec_=6. This data set approximately doubles the number of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts at z>3 in these fields. We discuss the general properties of the VUDS-DR1 sample in terms of the spectroscopic redshift distribution, the distribution of Lyman-{alpha} equivalent widths, and physical properties including stellar masses M* and star formation rates derived from spectral energy distribution fitting with the knowledge of z_spec_. We highlight the properties of the most massive star-forming galaxies, noting the wide range in spectral properties, with Lyman-{alpha} in emission or in absorption, and in imaging properties with compact, multi-component, or pair morphologies. We present the catalogue database and data products. All VUDS-DR1 data are publicly available and can be retrieved from a dedicated query-based database. Future VUDS data releases will follow this VUDS-DR1 to give access to the spectra and associated measurement of ~8000 objects in the full ~1 square degree of the VUDS survey.
We explore the evolution of the colour-magnitude relation (CMR) and luminosity function (LF) at 0.4<z<1.3 from the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) using ~45000 galaxies with precise spectroscopic redshifts down to i'_AB_<22.5 over ~10.32deg^2^ in two fields. From z=0.5 to z=1.3 the LF and CMR are well defined for different galaxy populations and M^*^_B_ evolves by ~1.04(1.09)+/-0.06(0.10) mag for the total (red) galaxy sample. We compare different criteria for selecting early-type galaxies: (1) a fixed cut in rest-frame (U-V) colours, (2) an evolving cut in (U-V) colours, (3) a rest-frame (NUV-r')-(r'-K) colour selection, and (4) a spectral-energy-distribution classification. The completeness and contamination varies for the different methods and with redshift, but regardless of the method we measure a consistent evolution of the red-sequence (RS). Between 0.4<z<1.3 we find a moderate evolution of the RS intercept of {Delta}(U-V)=0.28+/-0.14 mag, favouring exponentially declining star formation (SF) histories with SF truncation at 1.7<=z<=2.3. Together with the rise in the number density of red galaxies by 0.64dex since z=1, this suggests a rapid build-up of massive galaxies (M_*_>10^11^M_{sun}_) and expeditious RS formation over a short period of ~1.5Gyr starting before z=1. This is supported by the detection of ongoing SF in early-type galaxies at 0.9<z<1.0, in contrast with the quiescent red stellar populations of early-type galaxies at 0.5<z<0.6. There is an increase in the observed CMR scatter with redshift, which is two times larger than observed in galaxy clusters and at variance with theoretical model predictions. We discuss possible physical mechanisms that support the observed evolution of the red galaxy population. Our findings point out that massive galaxies have experienced a sharp SF quenching at z~1 with only limited additional merging. In contrast, less-massive galaxies experience a mix of SF truncation and minor mergers which build-up the low- and intermediate-mass end of the CMR.
We present observations collected in the CFHTLS-VIPERS region in the ultraviolet with the GALEX satellite (far- and near-ultraviolet channels) and in the near-infrared with the CFHT/WIRCam camera (Ks band) over an area of 22 and 27deg^2^, respectively. The depth of the photometry was optimised to measure the physical properties (e.g., star formation rate, stellar masses) of all the galaxies in the VIPERS spectroscopic survey. The large volume explored by VIPERS will enable a unique investigation of the relationship between the galaxy properties and their environment (density field and cosmic web) at high redshift (0.5<=z<=1.2). In this paper, we present the observations, the data reductions, and the build-up of the multi-colour catalogues. The CFHTLS-T0007 (gri-{chi}^2^) images are used as reference to detect and measure the Ks -band photometry, while the T0007 u*-selected sources are used as priors to perform the GALEX photometry based on a dedicated software (EMphot). Our final sample reaches NUV_AB_~25 (at 5{sigma}) and K_AB_~22 (at 3{sigma}). The large spectroscopic sample (~51,000 spectroscopic redshifts) allows us to highlight the robustness of our star/galaxy separation and the reliability of our photometric redshifts with a typical accuracy of {sigma]_z_<=0:04 and a fraction of catastrophic failures {eta}<=2% down to i~23. We present various tests on the Ks -band completeness and photometric redshift accuracy by comparing our results with existing overlapping deep photometric catalogues. Finally, we discuss the BzK sample of passive and active galaxies at high redshift and the evolution of galaxy morphology in the (NUV-r) vs (r-Ks) diagram at low redshift (z<=0.25) based on the high image quality of the CFHTLS. The images, catalogues, and photometric redshifts for 1.5 million sources (down to NUV<=25 {union} Ks<=22) are released and available at this URL: http://cesam.lam.fr/vipers-mls/.
Characterisation of cosmic voids gives unique information about the large-scale distribution of galaxies, their evolution, and the cosmological model. We identify and characterise cosmic voids in the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) at redshift 0.55 <z< 0.9. A new void search method is developed based upon the identification of empty spheres that fit between galaxies. The method can be used to characterise the cosmic voids despite the presence of complex survey boundaries and internal gaps. We investigate the impact of systematic observational effects and validate the method against mock catalogues. We measure the void size distribution and the void-galaxy correlation function.
The Virgo Photometry Catalogue (VPC) contains independently calibrated surface photometry in the U, B_J_ and R_C_ bands for over 1000 galaxies (including background objects) brighter than B_J25_=19.0 in a 23{deg}^2^ area of the sky centred on R.A., Dec.(1950)= 12h26m, +13{deg}08'. The angular resolution of the photometry varies from band to band and was in each case determined from the FWHM of stellar profiles: 4.75+/-0.1arcsec in the U band, 5.0+/-0.1arcsec in the B_J_ band and 6.0+/-0.1arcsec in the R_C_ band. The photometry was intended for the derivation of accurate magnitudes and colours and is therefore not of high resolution. Stellar contamination of the galaxy sample is minimal, and cannot exceed about 3 faint-end objects in total (i.e. it is less than about 0.25%). Parameters listed for catalogued galaxies include: equatorial coordinates; morphological types; surface-brightness profile parameters (which preserve the majority of the surface photometry information); U, B_J_ and R_C_ isophotal magnitudes; U, B_J_, R_C_ and [transformed] B total magnitudes; (U-B_J_) and (B_J_-R_C_) equal-area colours, apparent angular radii, ellipticities, position angles, heliocentric radial velocities and alternative designations. All total magnitudes and total colours are extrapolated according to the "t" system of Young et al. (1998A&AS..130..173Y). The VPC is based primarily on four UK-Schmidt plates, all of which were scanned using the COSMOS measuring machine at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. All magnitudes, colours and surface-brightness parameters are derived from numerical integrations of segmented plate-scan data; except for (in 109 cases) saturated and (in 51 cases) inextricably merged images. The latter 51 images are listed in Table 14 (Appendix D) of the original paper, whilst data for the remaining 1129 objects [i.e. including ones for which the VPC photometry is saturated in one or more bands] are listed in the main catalogue.
We have visually examined 12 Palomar red plates for galaxies at low Galactic latitude b, where the Supergalactic Plane (SGP) is crossed by the Galactic Plane (GP), at Galactic longitude l~135deg. The catalogue consists of 2575 galaxy candidates, of which 462 have major axis diameter d>=0.8arcmin (uncorrected for extinction). Galaxy candidates can be identified down to |b|~0deg. One of our galaxy candidates (J24=Dwingeloo 1) has recently been discovered independently at 21cm by Kraan-Korteweg et al. as a nearby galaxy. Comparisons with structures seen in the IRAs and UGC catalogues are made. We compare the success rate of identifying galaxies using the IRAS Point Source Catalogue under different colour selection criteria. The criteria that require both the 60- and 100-{mu}m fluxes to be of high quality have the highest probability of selecting a galaxy (with d>=0.6arcmin), but at the expense of selecting a smaller number of galaxies in total.
We present the results of a project using wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at 1.4GHz of 2865 known radio sources in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field, whose main objective is to determine where Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are present. The combination of number of sources, sensitivity, angular resolution and area covered by this project are unprecedented. A catalogue which contains the VLBI detected sources is presented, the main purpose of which is to be used as an AGN catalogue. A catalogue containing complementary multiwavelength information of the VLBI detected sources is also presented.
We use very long baseline interferometry data obtained between mid-1995 and the end of 2002 May together with older data to extend and revise the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). Revised positions of ICRF candidate and "other" sources, based on inclusion of the additional data, are presented. Positions, in the frame of the ICRF, for an additional 109 new sources are also presented. All but four of the new sources are located north of {delta}=-30{deg}. Positions of the ICRF defining sources remain unchanged. We present a summary of current astrometric and geodetic observing programs and discuss the evolution and future of the ICRF.