The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9

Khee-Gan Lee; Stephen Bailey; Leslie E. Bartsch; William Carithers; Kyle S. Dawson; David Kirkby; Britt Lundgren; Daniel Margala; Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille; Matthew M. Pieri; David J. Schlegel; David H. Weinberg; Christophe Yeche; Eric Aubourg; Julian Bautista; Dmitry Bizyaev; Michael Blomqvist; Adam S. Bolton; Arnaud Borde; Howard Brewington; Nicolas G. Busca; Rupert A. C. Croft; Timothee Delubac; Garrett Ebelke; Daniel J. Eisenstein; Andreu Font-Ribera; Jian Ge; Jean-Christophe Hamilton; Joseph F. Hennawi; Shirley Ho; Klaus Honscheid; Jean-Marc Le Goff; Elena Malanushenko; Viktor Malanushenko; Jordi Miralda-Escude; Adam D. Myers; Pasquier Noterdaeme; Daniel Oravetz; Kaike Pan; Isabelle Pâris; Patrick Petitjean; James Rich; Emmanuel Rollinde; Nicholas P. Ross; Graziano Rossi; Donald P. Schneider; Audrey Simmons; Stephanie Snedden; Anze Slosar; David N. Spergel; Nao Suzuki; Matteo Viel; Benjamin A. Weaver

doi:10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69

The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9

Khee-Gan Lee, Stephen Bailey, Leslie E. Bartsch, William Carithers, Kyle S. Dawson, David Kirkby, Britt Lundgren, Daniel Margala, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Matthew M. Pieri, David J. Schlegel, David H. Weinberg, Christophe Yeche, Eric Aubourg, Julian Bautista, Dmitry Bizyaev, Michael Blomqvist, Adam S. Bolton, Arnaud Borde, Howard BrewingtonNicolas G. Busca, Rupert A. C. Croft, Timothee Delubac, Garrett Ebelke, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Andreu Font-Ribera, Jian Ge, Jean-Christophe Hamilton, Joseph F. Hennawi, Shirley Ho, Klaus Honscheid, Jean-Marc Le Goff, Elena Malanushenko, Viktor Malanushenko, Jordi Miralda-Escude, Adam D. Myers, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Daniel Oravetz, Kaike Pan, Isabelle Pâris, Patrick Petitjean, James Rich, Emmanuel Rollinde, Nicholas P. Ross, Graziano Rossi, Donald P. Schneider, Audrey Simmons, Stephanie Snedden, Anze Slosar, David N. Spergel, Nao Suzuki, Matteo Viel, Benjamin A. Weaver

Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation

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Abstract

We present the BOSS Lyman-α (Lyα) Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9, comprising 54,468 quasar spectra with z qso > 2.15 suitable for Lyα forest analysis. This data set probes the intergalactic medium with absorption redshifts 2.0 < z α < 5.7 over an area of 3275 deg2, and encompasses an approximate comoving volume of 20 h –3 Gpc3. With each spectrum, we have included several products designed to aid in Lyα forest analysis: improved sky masks that flag pixels where data may be unreliable, corrections for known biases in the pipeline estimated noise, masks for the cores of damped Lyα systems and corrections for their wings, and estimates of the unabsorbed continua so that the observed flux can be converted to a fractional transmission. The continua are derived using a principal component fit to the quasar spectrum redward of rest-frame Lyα (λ > 1216 Å), extrapolated into the forest region and normalized by a linear function to fit the expected evolution of the Lyα forest mean flux. The estimated continuum errors are 5% rms. We also discuss possible systematics arising from uncertain spectrophotometry and artifacts in the flux calibration; global corrections for the latter are provided. Our sample provides a convenient starting point for users to analyze clustering in BOSS Lyα forest data, and it provides a fiducial data set that can be used to compare results from different analyses of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyα forest. The full data set is available from the SDSS-III DR9 Web site.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	69
Journal	The Astronomical Journal
Volume	145
Issue number	3
Early online date	6 Feb 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2013

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The_Boss_Lya_Forest_SampleSubmitted manuscript, 714 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-SA

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Lee, K.-G., Bailey, S., Bartsch, L. E., Carithers, W., Dawson, K. S., Kirkby, D., Lundgren, B., Margala, D., Palanque-Delabrouille, N., Pieri, M. M., Schlegel, D. J., Weinberg, D. H., Yeche, C., Aubourg, E., Bautista, J., Bizyaev, D., Blomqvist, M., Bolton, A. S., Borde, A., ... Weaver, B. A. (2013). The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9. The Astronomical Journal, 145(3), 69. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69

@article{78cdec3197a14a90b3cee8686776a5a4,

title = "The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9",

abstract = "We present the BOSS Lyman-α (Lyα) Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9, comprising 54,468 quasar spectra with z qso > 2.15 suitable for Lyα forest analysis. This data set probes the intergalactic medium with absorption redshifts 2.0 < z α < 5.7 over an area of 3275 deg2, and encompasses an approximate comoving volume of 20 h –3 Gpc3. With each spectrum, we have included several products designed to aid in Lyα forest analysis: improved sky masks that flag pixels where data may be unreliable, corrections for known biases in the pipeline estimated noise, masks for the cores of damped Lyα systems and corrections for their wings, and estimates of the unabsorbed continua so that the observed flux can be converted to a fractional transmission. The continua are derived using a principal component fit to the quasar spectrum redward of rest-frame Lyα (λ > 1216 {\AA}), extrapolated into the forest region and normalized by a linear function to fit the expected evolution of the Lyα forest mean flux. The estimated continuum errors are 5\% rms. We also discuss possible systematics arising from uncertain spectrophotometry and artifacts in the flux calibration; global corrections for the latter are provided. Our sample provides a convenient starting point for users to analyze clustering in BOSS Lyα forest data, and it provides a fiducial data set that can be used to compare results from different analyses of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyα forest. The full data set is available from the SDSS-III DR9 Web site.",

author = "Khee-Gan Lee and Stephen Bailey and Bartsch, \{Leslie E.\} and William Carithers and Dawson, \{Kyle S.\} and David Kirkby and Britt Lundgren and Daniel Margala and Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille and Pieri, \{Matthew M.\} and Schlegel, \{David J.\} and Weinberg, \{David H.\} and Christophe Yeche and Eric Aubourg and Julian Bautista and Dmitry Bizyaev and Michael Blomqvist and Bolton, \{Adam S.\} and Arnaud Borde and Howard Brewington and Busca, \{Nicolas G.\} and Croft, \{Rupert A. C.\} and Timothee Delubac and Garrett Ebelke and Eisenstein, \{Daniel J.\} and Andreu Font-Ribera and Jian Ge and Jean-Christophe Hamilton and Hennawi, \{Joseph F.\} and Shirley Ho and Klaus Honscheid and \{Le Goff\}, Jean-Marc and Elena Malanushenko and Viktor Malanushenko and Jordi Miralda-Escude and Myers, \{Adam D.\} and Pasquier Noterdaeme and Daniel Oravetz and Kaike Pan and Isabelle P{\^a}ris and Patrick Petitjean and James Rich and Emmanuel Rollinde and Ross, \{Nicholas P.\} and Graziano Rossi and Schneider, \{Donald P.\} and Audrey Simmons and Stephanie Snedden and Anze Slosar and Spergel, \{David N.\} and Nao Suzuki and Matteo Viel and Weaver, \{Benjamin A.\}",

year = "2013",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69",

language = "English",

volume = "145",

pages = "69",

journal = "The Astronomical Journal",

issn = "0004-6256",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "3",

}

Lee, K-G, Bailey, S, Bartsch, LE, Carithers, W, Dawson, KS, Kirkby, D, Lundgren, B, Margala, D, Palanque-Delabrouille, N, Pieri, MM, Schlegel, DJ, Weinberg, DH, Yeche, C, Aubourg, E, Bautista, J, Bizyaev, D, Blomqvist, M, Bolton, AS, Borde, A, Brewington, H, Busca, NG, Croft, RAC, Delubac, T, Ebelke, G, Eisenstein, DJ, Font-Ribera, A, Ge, J, Hamilton, J-C, Hennawi, JF, Ho, S, Honscheid, K, Le Goff, J-M, Malanushenko, E, Malanushenko, V, Miralda-Escude, J, Myers, AD, Noterdaeme, P, Oravetz, D, Pan, K, Pâris, I, Petitjean, P, Rich, J, Rollinde, E, Ross, NP, Rossi, G, Schneider, DP, Simmons, A, Snedden, S, Slosar, A, Spergel, DN, Suzuki, N, Viel, M & Weaver, BA 2013, 'The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9', The Astronomical Journal, vol. 145, no. 3, pp. 69. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69

TY - JOUR

T1 - The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9

AU - Lee, Khee-Gan

AU - Bailey, Stephen

AU - Bartsch, Leslie E.

AU - Carithers, William

AU - Dawson, Kyle S.

AU - Kirkby, David

AU - Lundgren, Britt

AU - Margala, Daniel

AU - Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie

AU - Pieri, Matthew M.

AU - Schlegel, David J.

AU - Weinberg, David H.

AU - Yeche, Christophe

AU - Aubourg, Eric

AU - Bautista, Julian

AU - Bizyaev, Dmitry

AU - Blomqvist, Michael

AU - Bolton, Adam S.

AU - Borde, Arnaud

AU - Brewington, Howard

AU - Busca, Nicolas G.

AU - Croft, Rupert A. C.

AU - Delubac, Timothee

AU - Ebelke, Garrett

AU - Eisenstein, Daniel J.

AU - Font-Ribera, Andreu

AU - Ge, Jian

AU - Hamilton, Jean-Christophe

AU - Hennawi, Joseph F.

AU - Ho, Shirley

AU - Honscheid, Klaus

AU - Le Goff, Jean-Marc

AU - Malanushenko, Elena

AU - Malanushenko, Viktor

AU - Miralda-Escude, Jordi

AU - Myers, Adam D.

AU - Noterdaeme, Pasquier

AU - Oravetz, Daniel

AU - Pan, Kaike

AU - Pâris, Isabelle

AU - Petitjean, Patrick

AU - Rich, James

AU - Rollinde, Emmanuel

AU - Ross, Nicholas P.

AU - Rossi, Graziano

AU - Schneider, Donald P.

AU - Simmons, Audrey

AU - Snedden, Stephanie

AU - Slosar, Anze

AU - Spergel, David N.

AU - Suzuki, Nao

AU - Viel, Matteo

AU - Weaver, Benjamin A.

PY - 2013/3/1

Y1 - 2013/3/1

N2 - We present the BOSS Lyman-α (Lyα) Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9, comprising 54,468 quasar spectra with z qso > 2.15 suitable for Lyα forest analysis. This data set probes the intergalactic medium with absorption redshifts 2.0 < z α < 5.7 over an area of 3275 deg2, and encompasses an approximate comoving volume of 20 h –3 Gpc3. With each spectrum, we have included several products designed to aid in Lyα forest analysis: improved sky masks that flag pixels where data may be unreliable, corrections for known biases in the pipeline estimated noise, masks for the cores of damped Lyα systems and corrections for their wings, and estimates of the unabsorbed continua so that the observed flux can be converted to a fractional transmission. The continua are derived using a principal component fit to the quasar spectrum redward of rest-frame Lyα (λ > 1216 Å), extrapolated into the forest region and normalized by a linear function to fit the expected evolution of the Lyα forest mean flux. The estimated continuum errors are 5% rms. We also discuss possible systematics arising from uncertain spectrophotometry and artifacts in the flux calibration; global corrections for the latter are provided. Our sample provides a convenient starting point for users to analyze clustering in BOSS Lyα forest data, and it provides a fiducial data set that can be used to compare results from different analyses of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyα forest. The full data set is available from the SDSS-III DR9 Web site.

AB - We present the BOSS Lyman-α (Lyα) Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9, comprising 54,468 quasar spectra with z qso > 2.15 suitable for Lyα forest analysis. This data set probes the intergalactic medium with absorption redshifts 2.0 < z α < 5.7 over an area of 3275 deg2, and encompasses an approximate comoving volume of 20 h –3 Gpc3. With each spectrum, we have included several products designed to aid in Lyα forest analysis: improved sky masks that flag pixels where data may be unreliable, corrections for known biases in the pipeline estimated noise, masks for the cores of damped Lyα systems and corrections for their wings, and estimates of the unabsorbed continua so that the observed flux can be converted to a fractional transmission. The continua are derived using a principal component fit to the quasar spectrum redward of rest-frame Lyα (λ > 1216 Å), extrapolated into the forest region and normalized by a linear function to fit the expected evolution of the Lyα forest mean flux. The estimated continuum errors are 5% rms. We also discuss possible systematics arising from uncertain spectrophotometry and artifacts in the flux calibration; global corrections for the latter are provided. Our sample provides a convenient starting point for users to analyze clustering in BOSS Lyα forest data, and it provides a fiducial data set that can be used to compare results from different analyses of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyα forest. The full data set is available from the SDSS-III DR9 Web site.

U2 - 10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69

DO - 10.1088/0004-6256/145/3/69

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-6256

VL - 145

SP - 69

JO - The Astronomical Journal

JF - The Astronomical Journal

IS - 3

ER -

The BOSS Lyα Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9

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