The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO (2SLAQ) luminous red galaxy survey

Cannon, Russell; Drinkwater, Michael; Edge, Alastair; Eisenstein, Daniel; Nichol, Robert; Outram, Phillip; Pimbblet, Kevin; De Propris, Roberto; Roseboom, Isaac; Wake, David; Allen, Paul; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Bridges, Terry; Carson, Daniel; Chiu, Kuenley; Colless, Matthew; Couch, Warrick; Croom, Scott; Driver, Simon; Fine, Stephen; Hewett, Paul; Loveday, Jon; Ross, Nicholas; Sadler, Elaine M.; Shanks, Tom; Sharp, Robert; Smith, J. Allyn; Stoughton, Chris; Weilbacher, Peter; Brunner, Robert J.; Meiksin, Avery and Schneider, Donald P. (2006). The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO (2SLAQ) luminous red galaxy survey. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 372(1) pp. 425–442.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10875.x

Abstract

We present a spectroscopic survey of almost 15 000 candidate intermediate-redshift luminous red galaxies (LRGs) brighter than i = 19.8, observed with 2dF on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. The targets were selected photometrically from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and lie along two narrow equatorial strips covering 180 deg². Reliable redshifts were obtained for 92 per cent of the targets and the selection is very efficient: over 90 per cent have 0.45 < z < 0.8. More than 80 per cent of the ~11 000 red galaxies have pure absorption-line spectra consistent with a passively evolving old stellar population. The redshift, photometric and spatial distributions of the LRGs are described. The 2SLAQ data will be released publicly from mid-2006, providing a powerful resource for observational cosmology and the study of galaxy evolution.

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