Article

SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 12: galaxy target selection and large-scale structure catalogues

Beth ReidBerkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USAShirley HoBruce and Astrid McWilliams Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USANikhil PadmanabhanYale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USAWill J. PercivalInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, Dennis Sciama Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UKJeremy L. TinkerCenter for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, USARita TojeiroSchool of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, UKMartin WhiteDepartments of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USADaniel J. EisensteinHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USAClaudia MarastonInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, Dennis Sciama Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UKA.J. RossCenter for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAAriel G. SánchezMax-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, ch 1312, Giessenbachstr., D-85741 Garching, GermanyDavid J. SchlegelBerkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USAE. S. SheldonBrookhaven National Laboratory, Bldg 510, Upton, New York, NY 11973, USAMichael A. StraussDepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 USAD. ThomasInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, Dennis Sciama Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UKDavid A. WakeDepartment of Astronomy, University of Winsconsin-Madison, 475 N. Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706-1582, USAFlorian BeutlerLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USADmitry BizyaevApache Point Observatory and New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM, 88349-0059, USAA. BoltonDepartment Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USAJoel R. BrownsteinDepartment Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USAChia-Hsun ChuangInstituto de Fsica Terica, (UAM/CSIC), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, SpainKyle DawsonDepartment Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USAPaul HardingDepartment of Astronomy, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USAFrancisco-Shu KitauraLeibniz-Institut fr Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, GermanyAlexie LeauthaudKavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, JapanKaren L. MastersInstitute of Cosmology & Gravitation, Dennis Sciama Building, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UKCameron K. McBrideHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USASurhud MoreKavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, JapanMatthew D. OlmsteadDepartment Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USADaniel OravetzApache Point Observatory and New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM, 88349-0059, USASebastián E. NuzaLeibniz-Institut fr Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, D-14482 Potsdam, GermanyKaike PanApache Point Observatory and New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM, 88349-0059, USAJohn K. ParejkoYale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USAJ. PforrAix Marseille Universit, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, 13388, Marseille, FranceFrancisco PradaCampus of International Excellence UAM+CSIC, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, SpainSergio Rodríguez-TorresCampus of International Excellence UAM+CSIC, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, SpainSalvador Salazar-AlbornozMax-Planck-Institut fr extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, Giessenbachstr., 85741 Garching, GermanyLado SamushiaKansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USADonald P. SchneiderInstitute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USAClaudia G. ScóccolaCONICET, Rivadavia 1917, 1033 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaAudrey SimmonsApache Point Observatory and New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 59, Sunspot, NM, 88349-0059, USAM. Vargas-MagañaInstituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 20-364, Mexico City, México

2015en

ABI

Abstract

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III project, has provided the largest survey of galaxy redshifts available to date, in terms of both the number of galaxy redshifts measured by a single survey, and the effective cosmological volume covered. Key to analysing the clustering of these data to provide cosmological measurements is understanding the detailed properties of this sample. Potential issues include variations in the target catalogue caused by changes either in the targeting algorithm or properties of the data used, the pattern of spectroscopic observations, the spatial distribution of targets for which redshifts were not obtained, and variations in the target sky density due to observational systematics. We document here the target selection algorithms used to create the galaxy samples that comprise BOSS. We also present the algorithms used to create large scale structure catalogues for the final Data Release (DR12) samples and the associated random catalogues that quantify the survey mask. The algorithms are an evolution of those used by the BOSS team to construct catalogues from earlier data, and have been designed to accurately quantify the galaxy sample. The code used, designated MKSAMPLE, is released with this paper.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv2382

Citations and references

Cited by 30 references

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