DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6

Jinyi Yang; Xiaohui Fan; Ansh Gupta; Adam D. Myers; Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille; Feige Wang; Christophe Yèche; Jessica Nicole Aguilar; Steven Ahlen; David M. Alexander; David Brooks; Kyle Dawson; Axel de la Macorra; Arjun Dey; Govinda Dhungana; Kevin Fanning; Andreu Font-Ribera; Satya Gontcho; Julien Guy; Klaus Honscheid; Stephanie Juneau; Theodore Kisner; Anthony Kremin; Laurent Le Guillou; Michael Levi; Christophe Magneville; Paul Martini; Aaron Meisner; Ramon Miquel; John Moustakas; Jundan Nie; Will Percival; Claire Poppett; Francisco Prada; Edward Schlafly; Gregory Tarlé; Mariana Vargas Magana; Benjamin Alan Weaver; Risa Wechsler; Rongpu Zhou; Zhimin Zhou; Hu Zou

doi:10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b

DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6

Jinyi Yang, Xiaohui Fan, Ansh Gupta, Adam D. Myers, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Feige Wang, Christophe Yèche, Jessica Nicole Aguilar, Steven Ahlen, David M. Alexander, David Brooks, Kyle Dawson, Axel de la Macorra, Arjun Dey, Govinda Dhungana, Kevin Fanning, Andreu Font-Ribera, Satya Gontcho, Julien Guy, Klaus HonscheidStephanie Juneau, Theodore Kisner, Anthony Kremin, Laurent Le Guillou, Michael Levi, Christophe Magneville, Paul Martini, Aaron Meisner, Ramon Miquel, John Moustakas, Jundan Nie, Will Percival, Claire Poppett, Francisco Prada, Edward Schlafly, Gregory Tarlé, Mariana Vargas Magana, Benjamin Alan Weaver, Risa Wechsler, Rongpu Zhou, Zhimin Zhou, Hu Zou

Astronomy

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Abstract

We report the first results of a high-redshift (z > 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 < z < 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and J-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 < z < 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the z band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at z 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at z > 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Lyα absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey’s completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at z ∼ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	27
Journal	Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
Volume	269
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b
State	Published - Nov 1 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b

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Yang, J., Fan, X., Gupta, A., Myers, A. D., Palanque-Delabrouille, N., Wang, F., Yèche, C., Aguilar, J. N., Ahlen, S., Alexander, D. M., Brooks, D., Dawson, K., de la Macorra, A., Dey, A., Dhungana, G., Fanning, K., Font-Ribera, A., Gontcho, S., Guy, J., ... Zou, H. (2023). DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6. Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, 269(1), Article 27. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b

Yang, J, Fan, X, Gupta, A, Myers, AD, Palanque-Delabrouille, N, Wang, F, Yèche, C, Aguilar, JN, Ahlen, S, Alexander, DM, Brooks, D, Dawson, K, de la Macorra, A, Dey, A, Dhungana, G, Fanning, K, Font-Ribera, A, Gontcho, S, Guy, J, Honscheid, K, Juneau, S, Kisner, T, Kremin, A, Le Guillou, L, Levi, M, Magneville, C, Martini, P, Meisner, A, Miquel, R, Moustakas, J, Nie, J, Percival, W, Poppett, C, Prada, F, Schlafly, E, Tarlé, G, Magana, MV, Weaver, BA, Wechsler, R, Zhou, R, Zhou, Z & Zou, H 2023, 'DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6', Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, vol. 269, no. 1, 27. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b

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title = "DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6",

abstract = "We report the first results of a high-redshift (z > 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 < z < 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and J-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 < z < 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the z band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at z 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at z > 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Lyα absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey{\textquoteright}s completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at z ∼ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.",

author = "Jinyi Yang and Xiaohui Fan and Ansh Gupta and Myers, {Adam D.} and Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille and Feige Wang and Christophe Y{\`e}che and Aguilar, {Jessica Nicole} and Steven Ahlen and Alexander, {David M.} and David Brooks and Kyle Dawson and {de la Macorra}, Axel and Arjun Dey and Govinda Dhungana and Kevin Fanning and Andreu Font-Ribera and Satya Gontcho and Julien Guy and Klaus Honscheid and Stephanie Juneau and Theodore Kisner and Anthony Kremin and {Le Guillou}, Laurent and Michael Levi and Christophe Magneville and Paul Martini and Aaron Meisner and Ramon Miquel and John Moustakas and Jundan Nie and Will Percival and Claire Poppett and Francisco Prada and Edward Schlafly and Gregory Tarl{\'e} and Magana, {Mariana Vargas} and Weaver, {Benjamin Alan} and Risa Wechsler and Rongpu Zhou and Zhimin Zhou and Hu Zou",

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doi = "10.3847/1538-4365/acf99b",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "269",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series",

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T1 - DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6

AU - Yang, Jinyi

AU - Fan, Xiaohui

AU - Gupta, Ansh

AU - Myers, Adam D.

AU - Palanque-Delabrouille, Nathalie

AU - Wang, Feige

AU - Yèche, Christophe

AU - Aguilar, Jessica Nicole

AU - Ahlen, Steven

AU - Alexander, David M.

AU - Brooks, David

AU - Dawson, Kyle

AU - de la Macorra, Axel

AU - Dey, Arjun

AU - Dhungana, Govinda

AU - Fanning, Kevin

AU - Font-Ribera, Andreu

AU - Gontcho, Satya

AU - Guy, Julien

AU - Honscheid, Klaus

AU - Juneau, Stephanie

AU - Kisner, Theodore

AU - Kremin, Anthony

AU - Le Guillou, Laurent

AU - Levi, Michael

AU - Magneville, Christophe

AU - Martini, Paul

AU - Meisner, Aaron

AU - Miquel, Ramon

AU - Moustakas, John

AU - Nie, Jundan

AU - Percival, Will

AU - Poppett, Claire

AU - Prada, Francisco

AU - Schlafly, Edward

AU - Tarlé, Gregory

AU - Magana, Mariana Vargas

AU - Weaver, Benjamin Alan

AU - Wechsler, Risa

AU - Zhou, Rongpu

AU - Zhou, Zhimin

AU - Zou, Hu

PY - 2023/11/1

Y1 - 2023/11/1

N2 - We report the first results of a high-redshift (z > 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 < z < 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and J-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 < z < 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the z band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at z 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at z > 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Lyα absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey’s completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at z ∼ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.

AB - We report the first results of a high-redshift (z > 5) quasar survey using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). As a DESI secondary target program, this survey is designed to carry out a systematic search and investigation of quasars at 4.8 < z < 6.8. The target selection is based on the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (the Legacy Surveys) DR9 photometry, combined with the Pan-STARRS1 data and J-band photometry from public surveys. A first quasar sample has been constructed from the DESI Survey Validation 3 (SV3) and first-year observations until 2022 May. This sample includes more than 400 new quasars at redshift 4.7 < z < 6.6, down to 21.5 magnitude (AB) in the z band, discovered from 35% of the entire target sample. Remarkably, there are 220 new quasars identified at z 5, more than one-third of existing quasars previously published at this redshift. The observations so far result in an average success rate of 23% at z > 4.7. The current spectral data set has already allowed analysis of interesting individual objects (e.g., quasars with damped Lyα absorbers and broad absorption line features), and statistical analysis will follow the survey’s completion. A set of science projects will be carried out leveraging this program, including quasar luminosity function, quasar clustering, intergalactic medium, quasar spectral properties, intervening absorbers, and properties of early supermassive black holes. Additionally, a sample of 38 new quasars at z ∼ 3.8–5.7 discovered from a pilot survey in the DESI SV1 is also published in this paper.

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DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6

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DESI z>5 Quasar Survey. I. A First Sample of 400 New Quasars at z ∼ 4.7–6.6

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DESI z&gt;~5 quasar survey. I. New z~4.7-6.6 QSOs

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DESI z>~5 quasar survey. I. New z~4.7-6.6 QSOs