Browsing by Author "Collinge, MJ"

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    A large, uniform sample of X-ray-emitting AGNs
    (2003) Anderson, SF; Voges, W; Margon, B; Trümper, J; Agüeros, MA; Boller, T; Collinge, MJ; Homer, L; Stinson, G; Strauss, MA; Annis, J; Gómez, P; Hall, PB; Nichol, RC; Richards, GT; Schneider, DP; Vanden Berk, DE; Fan, XH; Ivezic, Z; Munn, JA; Newberg, HJ; Richmond, MW; Weinberg, DH; Yanny, B; Bahcall, NA; Brinkmann, J; Fukugita, M; York, DG
    Many open questions in X-ray astronomy are limited by the relatively small number of objects in uniform optically identified and observed samples, especially when rare subclasses are considered or when subsets are isolated to search for evolution or correlations between wavebands. We describe the initial results of a new program aimed to ultimately yield similar to10(4) fully characterized X-ray source identifications-a sample about an order of magnitude larger than earlier efforts. The technique is detailed and employs X-ray data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) and optical imaging and spectroscopic follow-up from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS); these two surveys prove to be serendipitously very well matched in sensitivity. As part of the SDSS software pipelines, optical objects in the SDSS photometric catalogs are automatically positionally cross-correlated with RASS X-ray sources. Then priorities for follow-on SDSS optical spectra of candidate counterparts are automatically assigned using an algorithm based on the known ratios of f(x)/f(opt) for various classes of X-ray emitters at typical RASS fluxes of similar to10(-13) ergs cm(-2) s(-1). SDSS photometric parameters for optical morphology, magnitude, and colors, plus FIRST radio information, serve as proxies for object class. Initial application of this approach to RASS/SDSS data from 1400 deg(2) of sky provides a catalog of more than 1200 spectroscopically confirmed quasars and other AGNs that are probable RASS identifications. Most of these are new identifications, and only a few percent of the AGN counterparts are likely to be random superpositions. The magnitude and redshift ranges of the counterparts are very broad, extending over 15
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    An initial survey of white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    (2003) Harris, HC; Liebert, J; Kleinman, SJ; Nitta, A; Anderson, SF; Knapp, GR; Krzesinski, J; Schmidt, G; Strauss, MA; Berk, DV; Eisenstein, D; Hawley, S; Margon, B; Munn, JA; Silvestri, NM; Smith, JA; Szkody, P; Collinge, MJ; Dahn, CC; Fan, XH; Hall, PB; Schneider, DP; Brinkmann, J; Burles, S; Gunn, JE; Hennessy, GS; Hindsley, R; Ivezic, Z; Kent, S; Lamb, DQ; Lupton, RH; Nichol, RC; Pier, JR; Schlegel, DJ; SubbaRao, M; Uomoto, A; Yanny, B; York, DG
    An initial assessment is made of white dwarf and hot subdwarf stars observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In a small area of sky ( 190 square degrees), observed much like the full survey will be, 269 white dwarfs (WDs) and 56 hot subdwarfs are identified spectroscopically where only 44 white dwarfs and five hot subdwarfs were known previously. Most are ordinary DA ( hydrogen atmosphere) and DB ( helium) types. In addition, in the full survey to date, a number of WDs have been found with uncommon spectral types. Among these are blue DQ stars displaying lines of atomic carbon; red DQ stars showing molecular bands of C-2 with a wide variety of strengths; DZ stars where Ca and occasionally Mg, Na, and/or Fe lines are detected; and magnetic WDs with a wide range of magnetic field strengths in DA, DB, DQ, and ( probably) DZ spectral types. Photometry alone allows identification of stars hotter than 12,000 K, and the density of these stars for 15 < g < 20 is found to be similar to2.2 deg(-2) at Galactic latitudes of 29degrees - 62degrees. Spectra are obtained for roughly half of these hot stars. The spectra show that for 15 < g < 17, 40% of hot stars are WDs, and the fraction of WDs rises to similar to90% at g = 20. The remainder are hot sdB and sdO stars.
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    SDSS white dwarfs with spectra showing atomic oxygen and/or carbon lines
    (2003) Liebert, J; Harris, HC; Dahn, CC; Schmidt, GD; Kleinman, SJ; Nitta, A; Krzesinski, J; Eisenstein, D; Smith, JA; Szkody, P; Hawley, S; Anderson, SF; Brinkmann, J; Collinge, MJ; Fan, XH; Hall, PB; Knapp, GR; Lamb, DQ; Margon, B; Schneider, DP; Silvestri, N
    We discuss 18 white dwarfs, one of which (G227-5) was previously known, whose SDSS spectra show lines of neutral and/or singly ionized carbon. At least two and perhaps four show lines of neutral or singly ionized oxygen. Apart from the extremely hot "PG 1159'' stars, these are the first white dwarfs with photospheric oxygen detected in their optical spectra. The photometry strongly suggests that these stars lie in the 11,000-30,000 K temperature range of the helium-atmosphere DB white dwarfs, though only one of them shows weak neutral helium lines in the spectrum. Trigonometric parallaxes are known for G227-5 and another, previously known white dwarf (G35-26) showing atomic carbon lines, and they indicate that both are massive stars. Theoretical arguments suggest that all members of this class of rare white dwarfs are massive (similar to1 M.), and this finding could explain the paucity of massive DB white dwarfs.
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    The first data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
    (2003) Abazajian, K; Adelman-McCarthy, JK; Agüeros, MA; Allam, SS; Anderson, SF; Annis, J; Bahcall, NA; Baldry, IK; Bastian, S; Berlind, A; Bernardi, M; Blanton, MR; Blythe, N; Bochanski, JJ; Boroski, WN; Brewington, H; Briggs, JW; Brinkmann, J; Brunner, RJ; Budavári, T; Carey, LN; Carr, MA; Castander, FJ; Chiu, K; Collinge, MJ; Connolly, AJ; Covey, KR; Csabai, I; Dalcanton, JJ; Dodelson, S; Doi, M; Dong, F; Eisenstein, DJ; Evans, ML; Fan, XH; Feldman, PD; Finkbeiner, DP; Friedman, SD; Frieman, JA; Fukugita, M; Gal, RR; Gillespie, B; Glazebrook, K; Gonzalez, CF; Gray, J; Grebel, EK; Grodnicki, L; Gunn, JE; Gurbani, VK; Hall, PB; Hao, L; Harbeck, D; Harris, FH; Harris, HC; Harvanek, M; Hawley, SL; Heckman, TM; Helmboldt, JF; Hendry, JS; Hennessy, GS; Hindsley, RB; Hogg, DW; Holmgren, DJ; Holtzman, JA; Homer, L; Hui, L; Ichikawa, SI; Ichikawa, T; Inkmann, JP; Ivezic, Z; Jester, S; Johnston, DE; Jordan, B; Jordan, WP; Jorgensen, AM; Juric, M; Kauffmann, G; Kent, SM; Kleinman, SJ; Knapp, GR; Kniazev, AY; Kron, RG; Krzesinski, J; Kunszt, PZ; Kuropatkin, N; Lamb, DQ; Lampeitl, H; Laubscher, BE; Lee, BC; Leger, RF; Li, N; Lidz, A; Lin, H; Loh, YS; Long, DC; Loveday, J; Lupton, RH; Malik, T; Margon, B; McGehee, PM; McKay, TA; Meiksin, A; Miknaitis, GA; Moorthy, BK; Munn, JA; Murphy, T; Nakajima, R; Narayanan, VK; Nash, T; Neilsen, EH; Newberg, HJ; Newman, PR; Nichol, RC; Nicinski, T; Nieto-Santisteban, M; Nitta, A; Odenkirchen, M; Okamura, S; Ostriker, JP; Owen, R; Padmanabhan, N; Peoples, J; Pier, JR; Pindor, B; Pope, AC; Quinn, TR; Rafikov, RR; Raymond, SN; Richards, GT; Richmond, MW; Rix, HW; Rockosi, CM; Schaye, J; Schlegel, DJ; Schneider, DP; Schroeder, J; Scranton, R; Sekiguchi, M; Seljak, U; Sergey, G; Sesar, B; Sheldon, E; Shimasaku, K; Siegmund, WA; Silvestri, NM; Sinisgalli, AJ; Sirko, E; Smith, JA; Smolcic, V; Snedden, SA; Stebbins, A; Steinhardt, C; Stinson, G; Stoughton, C; Strateva, IV; Strauss, MA; Subbarao, M; Szalay, AS; Szapudi, I; Szkody, P; Tasca, L; Tegmark, M; Thakar, AR; Tremonti, C; Tucker, DL; Uomoto, A; Vanden Berk, DE; Vandenberg, J; Vogeley, MS; Voges, W; Vogt, NP; Walkowicz, LM; Weinberg, DH; West, AA; White, SDM; Wilhite, BC; Willman, B; Xu, YZ; Yanny, B; Yarger, J; Yasuda, N; Yip, CW; Yocum, DR; York, DG; Zakamska, NL; Zehavi, I; Zheng, W; Zibetti, S; Zucker, DB
    The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has validated and made publicly available its First Data Release. This consists of 2099 deg(2) of five-band (u, g, r, i, z) imaging data, 186,240 spectra of galaxies, quasars, stars and calibrating blank sky patches selected over 1360 deg(2) of this area, and tables of measured parameters from these data. The imaging data go to a depth of r approximate to 22.6 and are photometrically and astrometrically calibrated to 2% rms and 100 mas rms per coordinate, respectively. The spectra cover the range 3800-9200 Angstrom, with a resolution of 1800-2100. This paper describes the characteristics of the data with emphasis on improvements since the release of commissioning data (the SDSS Early Data Release) and serves as a pointer to extensive published and on-line documentation of the survey.