Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

Blanton, Michael R.; Bershady, Matthew A.; Abolfathi, Bela; Albareti, Franco D.; Prieto, Carlos Allende; Almeida, Andres; Alonso-Garc?a, Javier; Anders, Friedrich; Anderson, Scott F.; Andrews, Brett; Aquino-Ort?z, Erik; Arag?n-Salamanca, Alfonso; Argudo-Fern?ndez, Maria; Armengaud, Eric; Aubourg, Eric; Avila-Reese, Vladimir; Badenes, Carles; Bailey, Stephen; Barger, Kathleen A.; Barrera-Ballesteros, Jorge; Bartosz, Curtis; Bates, Dominic; Baumgarten, Falk; Bautista, Julian; Beaton, Rachael; Beers, Timothy C.; Belfiore, Francesco; Bender, Chad F.; Berlind, Andreas A.; Bernardi, Mariangela; Beutler, Florian; Bird, Jonathan C.; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Blomqvist, Michael; Bolton, Adam S.; Boquien, M?d?ric; Borissova, Jura; Bosch, Remco van den; Bovy, Jo; Brandt, William N.; Brinkmann, Jonathan; Brownstein, Joel R.; Bundy, Kevin; Burgasser, Adam J.; Burtin, Etienne; Busca, Nicol?s G.; Cappellari, Michele; Carigi, Maria Leticia Delgado; Carlberg, Joleen K.; Rosell, Aurelio Carn...

Abstract

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July.

Citation

Blanton, M. R., Bershady, M. A., Abolfathi, B., Albareti, F. D., Prieto, C. A., Almeida, A., Alonso-García, J., Anders, F., Anderson, S. F., Andrews, B., Aquino-Ortíz, E., Aragón-Salamanca, A., Argudo-Fernández, M., Armengaud, E., Aubourg, E., Avila-Reese, V., Badenes, C., Bailey, S., Barger, K. A., Barrera-Ballesteros, J., …Zou, H. (2017). Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe. Astronomical Journal, 154(1), 1-35. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa7567

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 25, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jun 29, 2017
• Publication Date: Jun 29, 2017
• Deposit Date: Oct 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 2, 2020
• Journal: The Astronomical Journal
• Print ISSN: 0004-6256
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 154
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 28
• Pages: 1-35
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa7567
• Keywords: Space and Planetary Science; Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4994182
• Additional Information: SDSS-IV is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.