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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
The time-domain spectroscopic survey: Understanding the optically variable sky with sequels in SDSS-III
Astrophysical Journal, Volume 825, No. 2, Article 137, Year 2016
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Description
The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) is an SDSS-IV eBOSS subproject primarily aimed at obtaining identification spectra of ∼220,000 optically variable objects systematically selected from SDSS/Pan-STARRS1 multi-epoch imaging. We present a preview of the science enabled by TDSS, based on TDSS spectra taken over ∼320 deg2 of sky as part of the SEQUELS survey in SDSS-III, which is in part a pilot survey for eBOSS in SDSS-IV. Using the 15,746 TDSS-selected single-epoch spectra of photometrically variable objects in SEQUELS, we determine the demographics of our variability-selected sample and investigate the unique spectral characteristics inherent in samples selected by variability. We show that variability-based selection of quasars complements color-based selection by selecting additional redder quasars and mitigates redshift biases to produce a smooth quasar redshift distribution over a wide range of redshifts. The resulting quasar sample contains systematically higher fractions of blazars and broad absorption line quasars than from color-selected samples. Similarly, we show that M dwarfs in the TDSS-selected stellar sample have systematically higher chromospheric active fractions than the underlying M-dwarf population based on their Hα emission. TDSS also contains a large number of RR Lyrae and eclipsing binary stars with main-sequence colors, including a few composite-spectrum binaries. Finally, our visual inspection of TDSS spectra uncovers a significant number of peculiar spectra, and we highlight a few cases of these interesting objects. With a factor of ∼15 more spectra, the main TDSS survey in SDSS-IV will leverage the lessons learned from these early results for a variety of time-domain science applications. © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Anderson, Scott F.
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
Green, Paul J.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard-smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Morganson, Eric P.
United States, Cambridge
Harvard-smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Eracleous, Michael C.
United States, University Park
Pennsylvania State University
Myers, Adam D.
United States, Laramie
University of Wyoming
Badenes, Carles
United States, Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
Bershady, Matthew A.
United States, Madison
University of Wisconsin-madison
Brandt, William Nielsen
United States, University Park
Pennsylvania State University
Chambers, Kenneth C.
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Davenport, James R.A.
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
United States, Bellingham
Western Washington University
Dawson, Kyle S.
United States, Salt Lake City
The University of Utah
Flewelling, Heather A.
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Heckman, Timothy M.
United States, Baltimore
Johns Hopkins University
Isler, Jedidah C.
United States, Nashville
Vanderbilt University
Kaiser, Nicholas
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Kneib, Jean Paul
Switzerland, Lausanne
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
France, Marseille
Aix Marseille Université
Runnoe, Jessie C.
United States, University Park
Pennsylvania State University
Schlafly, Edward F.
Germany, Heidelberg
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
P. Schneider, Donald P.
United States, University Park
Pennsylvania State University
Schwope, Axel D.
Germany, Potsdam
Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
Shen, Yue
China, Beijing
Peking University
United States, Pasadena
Carnegie Observatories
Stassun, Keivan Guadalupe
United States, Nashville
Vanderbilt University
United States, Nashville
Fisk University
Szkody, Paula
United States, Seattle
University of Washington
Waters, Christopher Z.
United States, Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
York, Donald G.
United States, Chicago
The University of Chicago
Statistics
Citations: 17
Authors: 25
Affiliations: 22
Identifiers
Doi:
10.3847/0004-637X/825/2/137
ISSN:
0004637X
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative