A Catalog of Quasar Properties From Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (original) (raw)

A Catalog of Quasar Properties from SDSS DR7

Arxiv preprint arXiv: …, 2010

We present a compilation of properties of the 105,783 quasars in the SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7) quasar catalog. In this value-added product, we compile continuum and emission line measurements around the Hα, Hβ, MgII and CIV regions, as well as other quantities such as radio properties, broad absorption line quasar (BALQSO) flags, and disk emitters. We also compile virial black hole mass estimates based on various calibrations. For the fiducial virial mass estimates we use the Vestergaard & Peterson (VP06) calibrations for Hβ and CIV, and our own calibration for MgII which matches the VP06 Hβ masses on average. We describe the construction of this catalog, and discuss its limitations. The catalog and its future updates will be made publicly available online.

The quasar mass-luminosity plane - III. Smaller errors on virial mass estimates

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 2010

We use 62185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5 sample to explore the quasar mass–luminosity plane view of virial mass estimation. Previous work shows deviations of ∼0.4 dex between virial and reverberation masses. The decline in quasar number density for the highest Eddington ratio quasars at each redshift provides an upper bound of between 0.13 and 0.29 dex for virial mass estimate statistical uncertainties. Across different redshift bins, the maximum possible Mgii mass uncertainties average 0.15 dex, while Hβ uncertainties average 0.21 dex and Civ uncertainties average 0.27 dex. Any physical spread near the high-Eddington-ratio boundary will produce a more restrictive bound. A comparison of the sub-Eddington boundary slope using Hβ and Mgii masses finds better agreement with uncorrected Mgii masses than with recently proposed corrections. The best agreement for these bright objects is produced by a multiplicative correction by a factor of 1.19, smaller than the ...

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog. IV. Fifth Data Release

Astronomical Journal, 2007

We present the fourth edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog contains 77,429 objects; this is an increase of over 30,000 entries since the previous edition. The catalog consists of the objects in the SDSS Fifth Data Release that have luminosities larger than M i = −22.0 (in a cosmology with H 0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , Ω M = 0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km s −1 or have interesting/complex absorption features, are fainter than i ≈ 15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is ≈ 5740 deg 2 . The quasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.48; the catalog includes 891 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 36 are at redshifts greater than five. Approximately half of the catalog quasars have i < 19; nearly all have i < 21. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.2 ′′ rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains basic radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800-9200Å at a spectral resolution of ≃ 2000; the spectra can be retrieved from the public database using the information provided in the catalog. The average SDSS colors of quasars as a function of redshift, derived from the catalog entries, are presented in tabular form. Approximately 96% of the objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS.

THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY QUASAR CATALOG. V. SEVENTH DATA RELEASE

The Astronomical Journal, 2010

We present the fifth edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog, which is based upon the SDSS Seventh Data Release. The catalog, which contains 105,783 spectroscopically confirmed quasars, represents the conclusion of the SDSS-I and SDSS-II quasar survey. The catalog consists of the SDSS objects that have luminosities larger than M i = −22.0 (in a cosmology with H 0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , Ω M = 0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km s −1 or have interesting/complex absorption features, are fainter than i ≈ 15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts. The catalog covers an area of ≈ 9380 deg 2 . The quasar redshifts range from 0.065 to 5.46, with a median value of 1.49; the catalog includes 1248 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 56 are at redshifts greater than five. The catalog contains 9210 quasars with i < 18; slightly over half of the entries have i < 19. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.1 ′′ rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800-9200Å at a spectral resolution of ≃ 2000; the spectra can be retrieved from the SDSS public database using the information provided in the catalog. Over 96% of the objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS. We also include a supplemental list of an additional 207 quasars with SDSS spectra whose archive photometric information is incomplete.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog: Fourteenth data release

Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present the data release 14 Quasar catalog (DR14Q) from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). This catalog includes all SDSS-IV/eBOSS objects that were spectroscopically targeted as quasar candidates and that are confirmed as quasars via a new automated procedure combined with a partial visual inspection of spectra, have luminosities Mi [z = 2] < −20.5 (in a Λ CDM cosmology with H0 = 70 km s−1 Mpc−1, Ω M =0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7), and either display at least one emission line with a full width at half maximum larger than 500 km s−1 or, if not, have interesting/complex absorption features. The catalog also includes previously spectroscopically-confirmed quasars from SDSS-I, II, and III. The catalog contains 526 356 quasars (144 046 are new discoveries since the beginning of SDSS-IV) detected over 9376 deg2 (2044 deg2 having new spectroscopic data available) with robust identification and redshift measured by a comb...

The quasar mass-luminosity plane - I. A sub-Eddington limit for quasars

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2010

We use 62,185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5 sample to explore the relationship between black hole mass and luminosity. Black hole masses were estimated based on the widths of their Hβ, MgII, and CIV lines and adjacent continuum luminosities using standard virial mass estimate scaling laws. We find that, over the range 0.2 < z < 4.0, the most luminous low-mass quasars are at their Eddington luminosity, but the most luminous high-mass quasars in each redshift bin fall short of their Eddington luminosities, with the shortfall of order ten or more at 0.2 < z < 0.6. We examine several potential sources of measurement uncertainty or bias and show that none of them can account for this effect. We also show the statistical uncertainty in virial mass estimation to have an upper bound of ∼ 0.15 dex, smaller than the 0.4 dex previously reported. We also examine the highest-mass quasars in every redshift bin in an effort to learn more about quasars that are about to cease their luminous accretion. We conclude that the quasar mass-luminosity locus contains a number of new puzzles that must be explained theoretically.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog: tenth data release

Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2014

We present the Data Release 10 Quasar (DR10Q) catalog from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. The catalog includes all BOSS objects that were targeted as quasar candidates during the first 2.5 years of the survey and that are confirmed as quasars via visual inspection of the spectra, have luminosities M i [z=2] < −20.5 (in a ΛCDM cosmology with H 0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , Ω M = 0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7), and either display at least one emission line with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) larger than 500 km s −1 or, if not, have interesting/complex absorption features. The catalog also includes known quasars (mostly from SDSS-I and II) that were reobserved by BOSS. The catalog contains 166,583 quasars (74,454 are new discoveries since SDSS-DR9) detected over 6,373 deg 2 with robust identification and redshift measured by a combination of principal component eigenspectra. The number of quasars with z > 2.15 (117,668) is ∼5 times greater than the number of z > 2.15 quasars known prior to BOSS. Redshifts and FWHMs are provided for the strongest emission lines (C iv, C iii, Mg ii). The catalog identifies 16,461 broad absorption line quasars and gives their characteristics. For each object, the catalog presents five-band (u, g, r, i, z) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag and information on the optical morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared, and radio emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3,600-10,500 Å at a spectral resolution in the range 1,300 < R < 2,500; the spectra can be retrieved from the SDSS Catalog Archive Server. We also provide a supplemental list of an additional 2,376 quasars that have been identified among the galaxy targets of the SDSS-III/BOSS.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog: ninth data release

We present the Data Release 9 Quasar (DR9Q) catalog from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. The catalog includes all BOSS objects that were targeted as quasar candidates during the survey, are spectrocopically confirmed as quasars via visual inspection, have luminosities M i [z=2] < −20.5 (in a ΛCDM cosmology with H 0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , Ω M = 0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7) and either display at least one emission line with full width at half maximum (FWHM) larger than 500 km s −1 or, if not, have interesting/complex absorption features. It includes as well, known quasars (mostly from SDSS-I and II) that were reobserved by BOSS. This catalog contains 87,822 quasars (78,086 are new discoveries) detected over 3,275 deg 2 with robust identification and redshift measured by a combination of principal component eigenspectra newly derived from a training set of 8,632 spectra from SDSS-DR7. The number of quasars with z > 2.15 (61,931) is ∼2.8 times larger than the number of z > 2.15 quasars previously known. Redshifts and FWHMs are provided for the strongest emission lines (C iv, C iii], Mg ii). The catalog identifies 7,533 broad absorption line quasars and gives their characteristics. For each object the catalog presents five-band (u, g, r, i, z) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared, and radio emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3,600-10,500 Å at a spectral resolution in the range 1,300 < R < 2,500; the spectra can be retrieved from the SDSS Catalog Archive Server. We also provide a supplemental list of an additional 949 quasars that have been identified, among galaxy targets of the BOSS or among quasar targets after DR9 was frozen.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog. III. Third Data Release

Astronomical Journal, 2005

3have luminosities larger than M i = −22 (in a cosmology with H 0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , Ω M = 0.3, and Ω Λ = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km s −1 or are unambiguously broad absorption line quasars, are fainter than i = 15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Survey: Quasar Luminosity Function from Data Release 3

Astronomical Journal, 2006

We determine the number counts and z=0-5 luminosity function for a well-defined, homogeneous sample of quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We conservatively define the most uniform statistical sample possible, consisting of 15,343 quasars within an effective area of 1622 deg2 that was derived from a parent sample of 46,420 spectroscopically confirmed broad-line quasars in the 5282 deg2 of imaging data from SDSS Data Release 3. The sample extends from i=15 to 19.1 at z<~3 and to i=20.2 for z>~3. The number counts and luminosity function agree well with the results of the Two Degree Field QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ) at redshifts and luminosities at which the SDSS and 2QZ quasar samples overlap, but the SDSS data probe to much higher redshifts than does the 2QZ sample. The number density of luminous quasars peaks between redshifts 2 and 3, although uncertainties in the selection function in this range do not allow us to determine the peak redshift more precisely. Our best-fit model has a flatter bright-end slope at high redshift than at low redshift. For z<2.4 the data are best fit by a redshift-independent slope of β=-3.1 [Φ(L)~Lβ]. Above z=2.4 the slope flattens with redshift to β>~-2.37 at z=5. This slope change, which is significant at the >~5 σ level, must be accounted for in models of the evolution of accretion onto supermassive black holes.