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We present the Data Release 14 Quasar catalog (DR14Q) from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). This catalog includes all SDSS-IV/eBOSS objects that were spectroscopically targeted as quasar candidates and that are confirmed as quasars via a new automated procedure combined with a partial visual inspection of spectra, have luminosities $M_{\rm i} \left[ z=2 \right] < -20.5$ (in a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology with $H_0 = 70 \ {\rm km \ s^{-1} \ Mpc ^{-1}}$, $\Omega_{\rm M} = 0.3$, and $\Omega_{\rm \Lambda} = 0.7$), and either display at least one emission line with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) larger than $500 \ {\rm km \ s^{-1}}$ or, if not, have interesting/complex absorption features. The catalog also includes previously spectroscopically-confirmed quasars from SDSS-I, II and III. The catalog contains 526,356 quasars 144,046 are new discoveries since the beginning of SDSS-IV) detected over 9,376 deg$^2$ (2,044 deg$^2$ having new spectroscopic data available) with robust identification and redshift measured by a combination of principal component eigenspectra. The catalog is estimated to have about 0.5% contamination. The catalog identifies 21,877 broad absorption line quasars and lists their characteristics. For each object, the catalog presents SDSS five-band CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag. The catalog also contains X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared, and radio emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. The catalog is available at https://data.sdss.org/sas/dr14/eboss/qso/DR14Q/DR14Q_v4_4.fits

We describe the algorithm used to select the Emission Line Galaxy (ELG) sample at $z \sim 0.85$ for the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV, using photometric data from the DECam Legacy Survey. Our selection is based on a selection box in the $g-r$ vs. $r-z$ colour-colour space and a cut on the $g$-band magnitude, to favour galaxies in the desired redshift range with strong [OII] emission. It provides a target density of 200 deg$^{-2}$ on the North Galactic Cap (NGC) and of 240 deg$^{-2}$ on the South Galactic Cap (SGC), where we use a larger selection box because of deeper imaging. We demonstrate that this selection passes the eBOSS requirements in terms of homogeneity. About 50,000 ELGs have been observed since the observations have started in 2016, September. These roughly match the expected redshift distribution, though the measured efficiency is slightly lower than expected. The efficiency can be increased by enlarging the redshift range and with incoming pipeline improvement. The cosmological forecast based on these first data predict $\sigma_{D_V}/D_V = 0.023$, in agreement with previous forecasts. Lastly, we present the stellar population properties of the ELG SGC sample. Once observations are completed, this sample will be suited to provide a cosmological analysis at $z \sim 0.85$, and will pave the way for the next decade of massive spectroscopic cosmological surveys, which heavily rely on ELGs. The target catalogue over the SGC will be released along with DR14., Comment: Submitted to MNRAS, 18 pages

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV extended Baryonic Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (SDSS-IV/eBOSS) will observe 195,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to measure the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation standard ruler (BAO) at redshift 0.9. To test different ELG selection algorithms, 9,000 spectra were observed with the SDSS spectrograph as a pilot survey based on data from several imaging surveys. First, using visual inspection and redshift quality flags, we show that the automated spectroscopic redshifts assigned by the pipeline meet the quality requirements for a reliable BAO measurement. We also show the correlations between sky emission, signal-to-noise ratio in the emission lines, and redshift error. Then we provide a detailed description of each target selection algorithm we tested and compare them with the requirements of the eBOSS experiment. As a result, we provide reliable redshift distributions for the different target selection schemes we tested. Finally, we determine an target selection algorithms that is best suited to be applied on DECam photometry because they fulfill the eBOSS survey efficiency requirements., Comment: 19 pages. Accepted in A and A