The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

Ting-Wen Lan; R. Tojeiro; E. Armengaud; J. Xavier Prochaska; T. M. Davis; David M. Alexander; A. Raichoor; Rongpu Zhou; Christophe Yeche; C. Balland; S. BenZvi; A. Berti; R. Canning; A. Carr; H. Chittenden; S. Cole; M. -C. Cousinou; K. Dawson; Biprateep Dey; K. Douglass; A. Edge; S. Escoffier; A. Glanville; S. Gontcho A Gontcho; J. Guy; C. Hahn; C. Howlett; Ho Seong Hwang; L. Jiang; A. Kovacs; M. Mezcua; S. Moore; S. Nadathur; M. Oh; D. Parkinson; A. Rocher; A. J. Ross; V. Ruhlmann-Kleider; C. G. Sabiu; K. Said; C. Saulder; D. Sierra-Porta; B. Weiner; P. Zarrouk; Y. Zhang; H. Zou; S. Ahlen; S. Bailey; D. Brooks; A. P. Cooper; A. de la Macorra; A. Dey; G. Dhungana; P. Doel; S. Eftekharzadeh; K. Fanning; A. Font-Ribera; L. Garrison; E. Gaztanaga; R. Kehoe; T. Kisner; A. Kremin; M. Landriau; L. Le Guillou; Michael E. Levi; C. Magneville; Aaron M. Meisner; R. Miquel; J. Moustakas; Adam D. Myers; Jeffrey A. Newman; J. D. Nie; N. Palanque-Delabrouille; W. J. Percival; C. Poppett; F. Prada; M. Schubnell; Gregory Tarle; B. A. Weaver; K. Zhang; Zhimin Zhou

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

Ting-Wen Lan, R. Tojeiro, E. Armengaud, J. Xavier Prochaska, T. M. Davis, David M. Alexander, A. Raichoor, Rongpu Zhou, Christophe Yeche, C. Balland, S. BenZvi, A. Berti, R. Canning, A. Carr, H. Chittenden, S. Cole, M. -C. Cousinou, K. Dawson, Biprateep Dey, K. DouglassA. Edge, S. Escoffier, A. Glanville, S. Gontcho A Gontcho, J. Guy, C. Hahn, C. Howlett, Ho Seong Hwang, L. Jiang, A. Kovacs, M. Mezcua, S. Moore, S. Nadathur, M. Oh, D. Parkinson, A. Rocher, A. J. Ross, V. Ruhlmann-Kleider, C. G. Sabiu, K. Said, C. Saulder, D. Sierra-Porta, B. Weiner, P. Zarrouk, Y. Zhang, H. Zou, S. Ahlen, S. Bailey, D. Brooks, A. P. Cooper, A. de la Macorra, A. Dey, G. Dhungana, P. Doel, S. Eftekharzadeh, K. Fanning, A. Font-Ribera, L. Garrison, E. Gaztanaga, R. Kehoe, T. Kisner, A. Kremin, M. Landriau, L. Le Guillou, Michael E. Levi, C. Magneville, Aaron M. Meisner, R. Miquel, J. Moustakas, Adam D. Myers, Jeffrey A. Newman, J. D. Nie, N. Palanque-Delabrouille, W. J. Percival, C. Poppett, F. Prada, M. Schubnell, Gregory Tarle, B. A. Weaver, K. Zhang, Zhimin Zhou

Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation

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Abstract

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies to validate the final survey design and target selections. To assist in these tasks, we visually inspect DESI spectra of approximately 2500 bright galaxies, 3500 luminous red galaxies (LRGs), and 10,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the visually inspected redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the visual inspection (VI) catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, LRGs, and ELGs with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km s−1 for bright galaxies and ELGs and approximately 40 km s−1 for LRGs. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km s−1 for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyα emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

Original language	English
Article number	68
Number of pages	18
Journal	The Astrophysical Journal
Volume	943
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa
Publication status	Published - 25 Jan 2023

Keywords

astro-ph.CO
astro-ph.GA
UKRI
STFC
ST/T000244/1

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Lan, T.-W., Tojeiro, R., Armengaud, E., Prochaska, J. X., Davis, T. M., Alexander, D. M., Raichoor, A., Zhou, R., Yeche, C., Balland, C., BenZvi, S., Berti, A., Canning, R., Carr, A., Chittenden, H., Cole, S., Cousinou, M. .-C., Dawson, K., Dey, B., ... Zhou, Z. (2023). The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies. The Astrophysical Journal, 943(1), Article 68. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

@article{068fcbb5f03d40c0aeb1f1f544005ff5,

title = "The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies",

abstract = "The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies to validate the final survey design and target selections. To assist in these tasks, we visually inspect DESI spectra of approximately 2500 bright galaxies, 3500 luminous red galaxies (LRGs), and 10,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the visually inspected redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the visual inspection (VI) catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, LRGs, and ELGs with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km s−1 for bright galaxies and ELGs and approximately 40 km s−1 for LRGs. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km s−1 for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyα emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.",

keywords = "astro-ph.CO, astro-ph.GA, UKRI, STFC, ST/T000244/1",

author = "Ting-Wen Lan and R. Tojeiro and E. Armengaud and Prochaska, {J. Xavier} and Davis, {T. M.} and Alexander, {David M.} and A. Raichoor and Rongpu Zhou and Christophe Yeche and C. Balland and S. BenZvi and A. Berti and R. Canning and A. Carr and H. Chittenden and S. Cole and Cousinou, {M. -C.} and K. Dawson and Biprateep Dey and K. Douglass and A. Edge and S. Escoffier and A. Glanville and Gontcho, {S. Gontcho A} and J. Guy and C. Hahn and C. Howlett and Hwang, {Ho Seong} and L. Jiang and A. Kovacs and M. Mezcua and S. Moore and S. Nadathur and M. Oh and D. Parkinson and A. Rocher and Ross, {A. J.} and V. Ruhlmann-Kleider and Sabiu, {C. G.} and K. Said and C. Saulder and D. Sierra-Porta and B. Weiner and P. Zarrouk and Y. Zhang and H. Zou and S. Ahlen and S. Bailey and D. Brooks and Cooper, {A. P.} and Macorra, {A. de la} and A. Dey and G. Dhungana and P. Doel and S. Eftekharzadeh and K. Fanning and A. Font-Ribera and L. Garrison and E. Gaztanaga and R. Kehoe and T. Kisner and A. Kremin and M. Landriau and Guillou, {L. Le} and Levi, {Michael E.} and C. Magneville and Meisner, {Aaron M.} and R. Miquel and J. Moustakas and Myers, {Adam D.} and Newman, {Jeffrey A.} and Nie, {J. D.} and N. Palanque-Delabrouille and Percival, {W. J.} and C. Poppett and F. Prada and M. Schubnell and Gregory Tarle and Weaver, {B. A.} and K. Zhang and Zhimin Zhou",

note = "AJ, submitted, 22 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, one of a suite of 8 papers detailing targeting for DESI",

year = "2023",

month = jan,

day = "25",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa",

language = "English",

volume = "943",

journal = "The Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing",

number = "1",

}

Lan, T-W, Tojeiro, R, Armengaud, E, Prochaska, JX, Davis, TM, Alexander, DM, Raichoor, A, Zhou, R, Yeche, C, Balland, C, BenZvi, S, Berti, A, Canning, R, Carr, A, Chittenden, H, Cole, S, Cousinou, M-C, Dawson, K, Dey, B, Douglass, K, Edge, A, Escoffier, S, Glanville, A, Gontcho, SGA, Guy, J, Hahn, C, Howlett, C, Hwang, HS, Jiang, L, Kovacs, A, Mezcua, M, Moore, S, Nadathur, S, Oh, M, Parkinson, D, Rocher, A, Ross, AJ, Ruhlmann-Kleider, V, Sabiu, CG, Said, K, Saulder, C, Sierra-Porta, D, Weiner, B, Zarrouk, P, Zhang, Y, Zou, H, Ahlen, S, Bailey, S, Brooks, D, Cooper, AP, Macorra, ADL, Dey, A, Dhungana, G, Doel, P, Eftekharzadeh, S, Fanning, K, Font-Ribera, A, Garrison, L, Gaztanaga, E, Kehoe, R, Kisner, T, Kremin, A, Landriau, M, Guillou, LL, Levi, ME, Magneville, C, Meisner, AM, Miquel, R, Moustakas, J, Myers, AD, Newman, JA, Nie, JD, Palanque-Delabrouille, N, Percival, WJ, Poppett, C, Prada, F, Schubnell, M, Tarle, G, Weaver, BA, Zhang, K & Zhou, Z 2023, 'The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies', The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 943, no. 1, 68. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

TY - JOUR

T1 - The DESI survey validation

T2 - results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

AU - Lan, Ting-Wen

AU - Tojeiro, R.

AU - Armengaud, E.

AU - Prochaska, J. Xavier

AU - Davis, T. M.

AU - Alexander, David M.

AU - Raichoor, A.

AU - Zhou, Rongpu

AU - Yeche, Christophe

AU - Balland, C.

AU - BenZvi, S.

AU - Berti, A.

AU - Canning, R.

AU - Carr, A.

AU - Chittenden, H.

AU - Cole, S.

AU - Cousinou, M. -C.

AU - Dawson, K.

AU - Dey, Biprateep

AU - Douglass, K.

AU - Edge, A.

AU - Escoffier, S.

AU - Glanville, A.

AU - Gontcho, S. Gontcho A

AU - Guy, J.

AU - Hahn, C.

AU - Howlett, C.

AU - Hwang, Ho Seong

AU - Jiang, L.

AU - Kovacs, A.

AU - Mezcua, M.

AU - Moore, S.

AU - Nadathur, S.

AU - Oh, M.

AU - Parkinson, D.

AU - Rocher, A.

AU - Ross, A. J.

AU - Ruhlmann-Kleider, V.

AU - Sabiu, C. G.

AU - Said, K.

AU - Saulder, C.

AU - Sierra-Porta, D.

AU - Weiner, B.

AU - Zarrouk, P.

AU - Zhang, Y.

AU - Zou, H.

AU - Ahlen, S.

AU - Bailey, S.

AU - Brooks, D.

AU - Cooper, A. P.

AU - Macorra, A. de la

AU - Dey, A.

AU - Dhungana, G.

AU - Doel, P.

AU - Eftekharzadeh, S.

AU - Fanning, K.

AU - Font-Ribera, A.

AU - Garrison, L.

AU - Gaztanaga, E.

AU - Kehoe, R.

AU - Kisner, T.

AU - Kremin, A.

AU - Landriau, M.

AU - Guillou, L. Le

AU - Levi, Michael E.

AU - Magneville, C.

AU - Meisner, Aaron M.

AU - Miquel, R.

AU - Moustakas, J.

AU - Myers, Adam D.

AU - Newman, Jeffrey A.

AU - Nie, J. D.

AU - Palanque-Delabrouille, N.

AU - Percival, W. J.

AU - Poppett, C.

AU - Prada, F.

AU - Schubnell, M.

AU - Tarle, Gregory

AU - Weaver, B. A.

AU - Zhang, K.

AU - Zhou, Zhimin

N1 - AJ, submitted, 22 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, one of a suite of 8 papers detailing targeting for DESI

PY - 2023/1/25

Y1 - 2023/1/25

N2 - The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies to validate the final survey design and target selections. To assist in these tasks, we visually inspect DESI spectra of approximately 2500 bright galaxies, 3500 luminous red galaxies (LRGs), and 10,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the visually inspected redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the visual inspection (VI) catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, LRGs, and ELGs with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km s−1 for bright galaxies and ELGs and approximately 40 km s−1 for LRGs. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km s−1 for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyα emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

AB - The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies to validate the final survey design and target selections. To assist in these tasks, we visually inspect DESI spectra of approximately 2500 bright galaxies, 3500 luminous red galaxies (LRGs), and 10,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the visually inspected redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the visual inspection (VI) catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, LRGs, and ELGs with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km s−1 for bright galaxies and ELGs and approximately 40 km s−1 for LRGs. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km s−1 for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyα emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

KW - astro-ph.CO

KW - astro-ph.GA

KW - UKRI

KW - STFC

KW - ST/T000244/1

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 943

JO - The Astrophysical Journal

JF - The Astrophysical Journal

IS - 1

M1 - 68

ER -

The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

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