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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will observe several Deep Drilling Fields (DDFs) to a greater depth and with a more rapid cadence than the main survey. In this paper, we describe the ``DeepDrill'' survey, which used the Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) to observe three of the four currently defined DDFs in two bands, centered on 3.6 $\mu$m and 4.5 $\mu$m. These observations expand the area which was covered by an earlier set of observations in these three fields by the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS). The combined DeepDrill and SERVS data cover the footprints of the LSST DDFs in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South field (ECDFS), the ELAIS-S1 field (ES1), and the XMM Large-Scale Structure Survey field (XMM-LSS). The observations reach an approximate $5\sigma$ point-source depth of 2 $\mu$Jy (corresponding to an AB magnitude of 23.1; sufficient to detect a 10$^{11} M_{\odot}$ galaxy out to $z\approx 5$) in each of the two bands over a total area of $\approx 29\,$deg$^2$. The dual-band catalogues contain a total of 2.35 million sources. In this paper we describe the observations and data products from the survey, and an overview of the properties of galaxies in the survey. We compare the source counts to predictions from the SHARK semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. We also identify a population of sources with extremely red ([3.6]$-$[4.5] $>1.2$) colours which we show mostly consists of highly-obscured active galactic nuclei., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures; MNRAS in press

We perform a comparison of different approaches to star-galaxy classification using the broad-band photometric data from Year 1 of the Dark Energy Survey. This is done by performing a wide range of tests with and without external `truth' information, which can be ported to other similar datasets. We make a broad evaluation of the performance of the classifiers in two science cases with DES data that are most affected by this systematic effect: large-scale structure and Milky Way studies. In general, even though the default morphological classifiers used for DES Y1 cosmology studies are sufficient to maintain a low level of systematic contamination from stellar mis-classification, contamination can be reduced to the O(1%) level by using multi-epoch and infrared information from external datasets. For Milky Way studies the stellar sample can be augmented by ~20% for a given flux limit. Reference catalogs used in this work will be made available upon publication., Comment: Reference catalogs used in this work will be made available upon publication

The ever-growing datasets in observational astronomy have challenged scientists in many aspects, including an efficient and interactive data exploration and visualization. Many tools have been developed to confront this challenge. However, they usually focus on displaying the actual images or focus on visualizing patterns within catalogs in a predefined way. In this paper we introduce Vizic, a Python visualization library that builds the connection between images and catalogs through an interactive map of the sky region. Vizic visualizes catalog data over a custom background canvas using the shape, size and orientation of each object in the catalog. The displayed objects in the map are highly interactive and customizable comparing to those in the images. These objects can be filtered by or colored by their properties, such as redshift and magnitude. They also can be sub-selected using a lasso-like tool for further analysis using standard Python functions from inside a Jupyter notebook. Furthermore, Vizic allows custom overlays to be appended dynamically on top of the sky map. We have initially implemented several overlays, namely, Voronoi, Delaunay, Minimum Spanning Tree and HEALPix grid layers, which are helpful for visualizing large-scale structure. All these overlays can be generated, added or removed interactively with one line of code. The catalog data is stored in a non-relational database, and the interfaces were developed in JavaScript and Python to work within Jupyter Notebook, which allows to create custom widgets, user generated scripts to analyze and plot the data selected/displayed in the interactive map. This unique design makes Vizic a very powerful and flexible interactive analysis tool. Vizic can be adopted in variety of exercises, for example, data inspection, clustering analysis, galaxy alignment studies, outlier identification or simply large-scale visualizations., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, revised for Astronomy and Computing

Photometric surveys produce large-area maps of the galaxy distribution, but with less accurate redshift information than is obtained from spectroscopic methods. Modern photometric redshift (photo-z) algorithms use galaxy magnitudes, or colors, that are obtained through multi-band imaging to produce a probability density function (PDF) for each galaxy in the map. We used simulated data to study the effect of using different photo-z estimators to assign galaxies to redshift bins in order to compare their effects on angular clustering and galaxy bias measurements. We found that if we use the entire PDF, rather than a single-point (mean or mode) estimate, the deviations are less biased, especially when using narrow redshift bins. When the redshift bin widths are $\Delta z=0.1$, the use of the entire PDF reduces the typical measurement bias from 5%, when using single point estimates, to 3%., Comment: Matches the MNRAS published version. 19 pages, 19 Figures

This overview article describes the legacy prospect and discovery potential of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) beyond cosmological studies, illustrating it with examples from the DES early data. DES is using a wide-field camera (DECam) on the 4m Blanco Telescope in Chile to image 5000 sq deg of the sky in five filters (grizY). By its completion the survey is expected to have generated a catalogue of 300 million galaxies with photometric redshifts and 100 million stars. In addition, a time-domain survey search over 27 sq deg is expected to yield a sample of thousands of Type Ia supernovae and other transients. The main goals of DES are to characterise dark energy and dark matter, and to test alternative models of gravity; these goals will be pursued by studying large scale structure, cluster counts, weak gravitational lensing and Type Ia supernovae. However, DES also provides a rich data set which allows us to study many other aspects of astrophysics. In this paper we focus on additional science with DES, emphasizing areas where the survey makes a difference with respect to other current surveys. The paper illustrates, using early data (from `Science Verification', and from the first, second and third seasons of observations), what DES can tell us about the solar system, the Milky Way, galaxy evolution, quasars, and other topics. In addition, we show that if the cosmological model is assumed to be Lambda+ Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) then important astrophysics can be deduced from the primary DES probes. Highlights from DES early data include the discovery of 34 Trans Neptunian Objects, 17 dwarf satellites of the Milky Way, one published z > 6 quasar (and more confirmed) and two published superluminous supernovae (and more confirmed)., Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures; a revised Figure 1 and minor changes, to match the published MNRAS version

We report the observation and confirmation of the first group- and cluster-scale strong gravitational lensing systems found in Dark Energy Survey (DES) data. Through visual inspection of data from the Science Verification (SV) season, we identified 53 candidate systems. We then obtained spectroscopic follow-up of 21 candidates using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) at the Gemini South telescope and the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) at the Magellan/Baade telescope. With this follow-up, we confirmed six candidates as gravitational lenses: Three of the systems are newly discovered, and the remaining three were previously known. Of the 21 observed candidates, the remaining 15 were either not detected in spectroscopic observations, were observed and did not exhibit continuum emission (or spectral features), or were ruled out as lensing systems. The confirmed sample consists of one group-scale and five galaxy cluster-scale lenses. The lensed sources range in redshift z ~ 0.80-3.2, and in i-band surface brightness i_{SB} ~ 23-25 mag/sq.-arcsec. (2" aperture). For each of the six systems, we estimate the Einstein radius and the enclosed mass, which have ranges ~ 5.0 - 8.6" and ~ 7.5 x 10^{12} - 6.4 x 10^{13} solar masses, respectively., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 4 tables; submitted to ApJ

We study the clustering of galaxies detected at $i<22.5$ in the Science Verification observations of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Two-point correlation functions are measured using $2.3\times 10^6$ galaxies over a contiguous 116 deg$^2$ region in five bins of photometric redshift width $\Delta z = 0.2$ in the range $0.2 < z < 1.2.$ The impact of photometric redshift errors are assessed by comparing results using a template-based photo-$z$ algorithm (BPZ) to a machine-learning algorithm (TPZ). A companion paper (Leistedt et al 2015) presents maps of several observational variables (e.g. seeing, sky brightness) which could modulate the galaxy density. Here we characterize and mitigate systematic errors on the measured clustering which arise from these observational variables, in addition to others such as Galactic dust and stellar contamination. After correcting for systematic effects we measure galaxy bias over a broad range of linear scales relative to mass clustering predicted from the Planck $\Lambda$CDM model, finding agreement with CFHTLS measurements with $\chi^2$ of 4.0 (8.7) with 5 degrees of freedom for the TPZ (BPZ) redshifts. We test a "linear bias" model, in which the galaxy clustering is a fixed multiple of the predicted non-linear dark-matter clustering. The precision of the data allow us to determine that the linear bias model describes the observed galaxy clustering to $2.5\%$ accuracy down to scales at least $4$ to $10$ times smaller than those on which linear theory is expected to be sufficient., Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, matches the version published in MNRAS. MNRAS 455, 4301-4324 (2015)

We analyze the clustering of photometrically selected galaxy pairs by using the halo-occupation distribution (HOD) model. We measure the angular two-point auto-correlation function, $\omega(\theta)$, for galaxies and galaxy pairs in three volume-limited samples and develop an HOD to model their clustering. Our results are successfully fit by these HOD models, and we see the separation of "1-halo" and "2-halo" clustering terms for both single galaxies and galaxy pairs. Our clustering measurements and HOD model fits for the single galaxy samples are consistent with previous results. We find that the galaxy pairs generally have larger clustering amplitudes than single galaxies, and the quantities computed during the HOD fitting, e.g., effective halo mass, $M_{eff}$, and linear bias, $b_{g}$, are also larger for galaxy pairs. We find that the central fractions for galaxy pairs are significantly higher than single galaxies, which confirms that galaxy pairs are formed at the center of more massive dark matter haloes. We also model the clustering dependence of the galaxy pair correlation function on redshift, galaxy type, and luminosity. We find early-early pairs (bright galaxy pairs) cluster more strongly than late-late pairs (dim galaxy pairs), and that the clustering does not depend on the luminosity contrast between the two galaxies in the compact group., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 17 pages, 12 figures

We present results from a study of the photometric redshift performance of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), using the early data from a Science Verification (SV) period of observations in late 2012 and early 2013 that provided science-quality images for almost 200 sq.~deg.~at the nominal depth of the survey. We assess the photometric redshift performance using about 15000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts available from other surveys. These galaxies are used, in different configurations, as a calibration sample, and photo-$z$'s are obtained and studied using most of the existing photo-$z$ codes. A weighting method in a multi-dimensional color-magnitude space is applied to the spectroscopic sample in order to evaluate the photo-$z$ performance with sets that mimic the full DES photometric sample, which is on average significantly deeper than the calibration sample due to the limited depth of spectroscopic surveys. Empirical photo-$z$ methods using, for instance, Artificial Neural Networks or Random Forests, yield the best performance in the tests, achieving core photo-$z$ resolutions $\sigma_{68} \sim 0.08$. Moreover, the results from most of the codes, including template fitting methods, comfortably meet the DES requirements on photo-$z$ performance, therefore, providing an excellent precedent for future DES data sets., Comment: Published in MNRAS. This version accounts for minor comments in the journal review

One of the consequences of entering the era of precision cosmology is the widespread adoption of photometric redshift probability density functions (PDFs). Both current and future photometric surveys are expected to obtain images of billions of distinct galaxies. As a result, storing and analyzing all of these PDFs will be non-trivial and even more severe if a survey plans to compute and store multiple different PDFs. In this paper we propose the use of a sparse basis representation to fully represent individual photo-$z$ PDFs. By using an Orthogonal Matching Pursuit algorithm and a combination of Gaussian and Voigt basis functions, we demonstrate how our approach is superior to a multi-Gaussian fitting, as we require approximately half of the parameters for the same fitting accuracy with the additional advantage that an entire PDF can be stored by using a 4-byte integer per basis function, and we can achieve better accuracy by increasing the number of bases. By using data from the CFHTLenS, we demonstrate that only ten to twenty points per galaxy are sufficient to reconstruct both the individual PDFs and the ensemble redshift distribution, $N(z)$, to an accuracy of 99.9% when compared to the one built using the original PDFs computed with a resolution of $\delta z = 0.01$, reducing the required storage of two hundred original values by a factor of ten to twenty. Finally, we demonstrate how this basis representation can be directly extended to a cosmological analysis, thereby increasing computational performance without losing resolution nor accuracy., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. The code can be found at http://lcdm.astro.illinois.edu/code/pdfz.html

The estimation and utilization of photometric redshift probability density functions (photo-$z$ PDFs) has become increasingly important over the last few years and currently there exist a wide variety of algorithms to compute photo-$z$'s, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we present a novel and efficient Bayesian framework that combines the results from different photo-$z$ techniques into a more powerful and robust estimate by maximizing the information from the photometric data. To demonstrate this we use a supervised machine learning technique based on random forest, an unsupervised method based on self-organizing maps, and a standard template fitting method but can be easily extend to other existing techniques. We use data from the DEEP2 and the SDSS surveys to explore different methods for combining the predictions from these techniques. By using different performance metrics, we demonstrate that we can improve the accuracy of our final photo-$z$ estimate over the best input technique, that the fraction of outliers is reduced, and that the identification of outliers is significantly improved when we apply a Na\"{\i}ve Bayes Classifier to this combined information. Our more robust and accurate photo-$z$ PDFs will allow even more precise cosmological constraints to be made by using current and future photometric surveys. These improvements are crucial as we move to analyze photometric data that push to or even past the limits of the available training data, which will be the case with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope., Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, minor corrections, accepted for publication to MNRAS

In this paper we explore the applicability of the unsupervised machine learning technique of Self Organizing Maps (SOM) to estimate galaxy photometric redshift probability density functions (PDFs). This technique takes a spectroscopic training set, and maps the photometric attributes, but not the redshifts, to a two dimensional surface by using a process of competitive learning where neurons compete to more closely resemble the training data multidimensional space. The key feature of a SOM is that it retains the topology of the input set, revealing correlations between the attributes that are not easily identified. We test three different 2D topological mapping: rectangular, hexagonal, and spherical, by using data from the DEEP2 survey. We also explore different implementations and boundary conditions on the map and also introduce the idea of a random atlas where a large number of different maps are created and their individual predictions are aggregated to produce a more robust photometric redshift PDF. We also introduced a new metric, the $I$-score, which efficiently incorporates different metrics, making it easier to compare different results (from different parameters or different photometric redshift codes). We find that by using a spherical topology mapping we obtain a better representation of the underlying multidimensional topology, which provides more accurate results that are comparable to other, state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms. Our results illustrate that unsupervised approaches have great potential for many astronomical problems, and in particular for the computation of photometric redshifts., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. The code can be found at http://lcdm.astro.illinois.edu/research/SOMZ.html

Large sets of objects with spectroscopic redshift measurements will be needed for imaging dark energy experiments to achieve their full potential, serving two goals:_training_, i.e., the use of objects with known redshift to develop and optimize photometric redshift algorithms; and_calibration_, i.e., the characterization of moments of redshift (or photo-z error) distributions. Better training makes cosmological constraints from a given experiment stronger, while highly-accurate calibration is needed for photo-z systematics not to dominate errors. In this white paper, we investigate the required scope of spectroscopic datasets which can serve both these purposes for ongoing and next-generation dark energy experiments, as well as the time required to obtain such data with instruments available in the next decade. Large time allocations on kilo-object spectrographs will be necessary, ideally augmented by infrared spectroscopy from space. Alternatively, precision calibrations could be obtained by measuring cross-correlation statistics using samples of bright objects from a large baryon acoustic oscillation experiment such as DESI. We also summarize the additional work on photometric redshift methods needed to prepare for ongoing and future dark energy experiments., Comment: White paper for the "Dark Energy and CMB" working group for the American Physical Society's Division of Particles and Fields long-term planning exercise ("Snowmass")

Strong lensing gravitational time delays are a powerful and cost effective probe of dark energy. Recent studies have shown that a single lens can provide a distance measurement with 6-7 % accuracy (including random and systematic uncertainties), provided sufficient data are available to determine the time delay and reconstruct the gravitational potential of the deflector. Gravitational-time delays are a low redshift (z~0-2) probe and thus allow one to break degeneracies in the interpretation of data from higher-redshift probes like the cosmic microwave background in terms of the dark energy equation of state. Current studies are limited by the size of the sample of known lensed quasars, but this situation is about to change. Even in this decade, wide field imaging surveys are likely to discover thousands of lensed quasars, enabling the targeted study of ~100 of these systems and resulting in substantial gains in the dark energy figure of merit. In the next decade, a further order of magnitude improvement will be possible with the 10000 systems expected to be detected and measured with LSST and Euclid. To fully exploit these gains, we identify three priorities. First, support for the development of software required for the analysis of the data. Second, in this decade, small robotic telescopes (1-4m in diameter) dedicated to monitoring of lensed quasars will transform the field by delivering accurate time delays for ~100 systems. Third, in the 2020's, LSST will deliver 1000's of time delays; the bottleneck will instead be the aquisition and analysis of high resolution imaging follow-up. Thus, the top priority for the next decade is to support fast high resolution imaging capabilities, such as those enabled by the James Webb Space Telescope and next generation adaptive optics systems on large ground based telescopes., Comment: White paper submitted to SNOWMASS2013

With the growth of large photometric surveys, accurately estimating photometric redshifts, preferably as a probability density function (PDF), and fully understanding the implicit systematic uncertainties in this process has become increasingly important. In this paper, we present a new, publicly available, parallel, machine learning algorithm that generates photometric redshift PDFs by using prediction trees and random forest techniques, which we have named TPZ. This new algorithm incorporates measurement errors into the calculation while also dealing efficiently with missing values in the data. In addition, our implementation of this algorithm provides supplementary information regarding the data being analyzed, including unbiased estimates of the accuracy of the technique without resorting to a validation data set, identification of poor photometric redshift areas within the parameter space occupied by the spectroscopic training data, a quantification of the relative importance of the variables used to construct the PDF, and a robust identification of outliers. This extra information can be used to optimally target new spectroscopic observations and to improve the overall efficacy of the redshift estimation. We have tested TPZ on galaxy samples drawn from the SDSS main galaxy sample and from the DEEP2 survey, obtaining excellent results in each case. We also have tested our implementation by participating in the PHAT1 project, which is a blind photometric redshift contest, finding that TPZ performs comparable to if not better than other empirical photometric redshift algorithms. Finally, we discuss the various parameters that control the operation of TPZ, the specific limitations of this approach and an application of photometric redshift PDFs., Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS. TPZ code at http://lcdm.astro.illinois.edu/research/TPZ.html

We present the galaxy two-point angular correlation function for galaxies selected from the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy sample was selected with $r$-band apparent magnitudes between 17 and 21; and we measure the correlation function for the full sample as well as for the four magnitude ranges: 17-18, 18-19, 19-20, and 20-21. We update the flag criteria to select a clean galaxy catalog and detail specific tests that we perform to characterize systematic effects, including the effects of seeing, Galactic extinction, and the overall survey uniformity. Notably, we find that optimally we can use observed regions with seeing $< 1\farcs5$, and $r$-band extinction < 0.13 magnitudes, smaller than previously published results. Furthermore, we confirm that the uniformity of the SDSS photometry is minimally affected by the stripe geometry. We find that, overall, the two-point angular correlation function can be described by a power law, $\omega(\theta) = A_\omega \theta^{(1-\gamma)}$ with $\gamma \simeq 1.72$, over the range $0\fdg005$--$10\degr$. We also find similar relationships for the four magnitude subsamples, but the amplitude within the same angular interval for the four subsamples is found to decrease with fainter magnitudes, in agreement with previous results. We find that the systematic signals are well below the galaxy angular correlation function for angles less than approximately $5\degr$, which limits the modeling of galaxy angular correlations on larger scales. Finally, we present our custom, highly parallelized two-point correlation code that we used in this analysis., Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, accepted by MNRAS

A crucial requirement for quantum information processing is the realization of multiple-qubit quantum gates. Here, we demonstrate an electron spin based all-electrical two-qubit gate consisting of single spin rotations and inter-dot spin exchange in a double quantum dot. A partially entangled output state is obtained by the application of the two-qubit gate to an initial, uncorrelated state. We find that the degree of entanglement is controllable by the exchange operation time. The approach represents a key step towards the realization of universal multiple qubit gates., Comment: accepted for publication, in press Phys.Rev.Lett. 2011

Repeat scans by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) of a 278 square degree stripe along the Celestial equator have yielded an average of over 10 observations each for nearly 8,000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars. Over 2500 of these quasars are in the redshift range such that the CIV emission line is visible in the SDSS spectrum. Utilising the width of these CIV lines and the luminosity of the nearby continuum, we estimate black hole masses for these objects. In an effort to isolate the effects of black hole mass and luminosity on the photometric variability of our dataset, we create several subsamples by binning in these two physical parameters. By comparing the ensemble structure functions of the quasars in these bins, we are able to reproduce the well-known anticorrelation between luminosity and variability, now showing that this anticorrelation is independent of the black hole mass. In addition, we find a correlation between variability and the mass of the central black hole. By combining these two relations, we identify the Eddington ratio as a possible driver of quasar variability, most likely due to differences in accretion efficiency., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We investigate the time-dependent variations of ultraviolet (UV) black hole mass estimates of quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). From SDSS spectra of 615 high-redshift (1.69 < z < 4.75) quasars with spectra from two epochs, we estimate black hole masses, using a single-epoch technique which employs an additional, automated night-sky-line removal, and relies on UV continuum luminosity and CIV (1549A) emission line dispersion. Mass estimates show variations between epochs at about the 30% level for the sample as a whole. We determine that, for our full sample, measurement error in the line dispersion likely plays a larger role than the inherent variability, in terms of contributing to variations in mass estimates between epochs. However, we use the variations in quasars with r-band spectral signal-to-noise ratio greater than 15 to estimate that the contribution to these variations from inherent variability is roughly 20%. We conclude that these differences in black hole mass estimates between epochs indicate variability is not a large contributer to the current factor of two scatter between mass estimates derived from low- and high-ionization emission lines., Comment: 76 pages, 15 figures, 2 (long) tables; Accepted for publication in ApJ (November 10, 2007)

We combine the QSO samples from the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ) and the 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO Survey (2SLAQ) in order to investigate the clustering of z~1.4 QSOs and measure the correlation function. The clustering signal in z-space, projected along the sky direction, is similar to that previously obtained from 2QZ alone. By fitting the z-space correlation function and lifting the degeneracy between beta and Omega_m_0 by using linear theory predictions, we obtain beta(z=1.4) = 0.60+-0.12 and Omega_m_0=0.25+-0.08, implying a value for the QSO bias, b(z=1.4)=1.5+-0.2. We further find that QSO clustering does not depend strongly on luminosity at fixed redshift. This result is inconsistent with the expectation of simple `high peaks' biasing models where more luminous, rare QSOs are assumed to inhabit higher mass haloes. The data are more consistent with models which predict that QSOs of different luminosities reside in haloes of similar mass. We find that halo mass does not evolve strongly with redshift nor depend on QSO luminosity. We finally investigate how black hole mass correlates with luminosity and redshift and ascertain the relation between Eddington efficiency and black hole mass. Our results suggest that QSOs of different luminosities may contain black holes of similar mass., Comment: 17 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, submitted to MNRAS

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 sq deg. Reliable redshifts were obtained for 92% of the targets and the selection is very efficient: over 90% have redshifts between 0.45 and 0.8. More than 80% 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., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 21 pages. The 2SLAQ LRG data discussed in this paper will become public when the paper appears in the journal. See http://www.2slaq.info for more information on the survey and data release, and a higher resolution version of the paper

We present new measurements of the luminosity function (LF) of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the 2dF-SDSS LRG and Quasar (2SLAQ) survey. We have carefully quantified, and corrected for, uncertainties in the K and evolutionary corrections, differences in the colour selection methods, and the effects of photometric errors, thus ensuring we are studying the same galaxy population in both surveys. Using a limited subset of 6326 SDSS LRGs (with 0.17

We present a comparison of optical and X-ray properties of galaxy clusters in the northern sky. We determine the recovery rate of X-ray detected clusters in the optical as a function of richness, redshift and X-ray luminosity, showing that the missed clusters are typically low contrast systems when observed optically. We employ four different statistical tests to test for the presence of substructure using optical two-dimensional data, finding that approximately 35% of the clusters show strong signs of substructure. However, the results are test-dependent, with variations also due to the magnitude range and radius utilized.We have also performed a comparison of X-ray luminosity and temperature with optical galaxy counts (richness). We find that the slope and scatter of the relations between richness and the X-ray properties are heavily dependent on the density contrast of the clusters. The selection of substructure-free systems does not improve the correlation between X-ray luminosity and richness, but this comparison also shows much larger scatter than one obtained using the X-ray temperature. In the latter case, the sample is significantly reduced because temperature measurements are available only for the most massive (and thus high contrast) systems. However, the comparison between temperature and richness is very sensitive to the exclusion of clusters showing signs of substructure. The correlation of X-ray luminosity and richness is based on the largest sample to date ($\sim$ 750 clusters), while tests involving temperature use a similar number of objects as previous works ($\lsim$100). The results presented here are in good agreement with existing literature., Comment: 32 pages, 18 figures, ApJ in press, including minor changes following the ApJ's edition

We examine the variability of the high-ionizaton C IV line in a sample of 105 quasars observed at multiple epochs by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find a strong correlation between the change in the C IV line flux and the change in the line width, but no correlations between the change in flux and changes in line center and skewness. The relation between line flux change and line width change is consistent with a model in which a broad line base varies with greater amplitude than the line core. The objects studied here are more luminous and at higher redshift than those normally studied for variability, ranging in redshift from 1.65 to 4.00 and in absolute r-band magnitude from roughly -24 to -28. Using moment analysis line-fitting techniques, we measure line fluxes, centers, widths and skewnesses for the C IV line at two epochs for each object. The well-known Baldwin Effect is seen for these objects, with a slope beta = -0.22. The sample has a median intrinsic Baldwin Effect slope of beta = -0.85; the C IV lines in these high-luminosity quasars appear to be less responsive to continuum variations than those in lower luminosity AGN. Additionally, we find no evidence for variability of the well known blueshift of the C IV line with respect to the low-ionization Mg II line in the highest flux objects, indicating that this blueshift might be useful as a measure of orientation., Comment: 52 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We present the third edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of the 46,420 objects in the SDSS Third Data Release that have luminosities larger than M_i = -22 (in a cosmology with H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc, Omega_M = 0.3, and Omega_Lambda = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km/s or are unambiguously broad absorption line quasars, are fainter than i = 15.0, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is 4188 sq. deg. The quasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.47; the high-redshift sample includes 520 quasars at redshifts greater than four, of which 17 are at redshifts greater than five. For each object the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.2 arcsec. rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. The calibrated digital spectra cover the wavelength region 3800--9200A at a spectral resolution about 2000; the spectra can be retrieved from the public database using the information provided in the catalog. A total of 44,221 objects in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS; 28,400 of the SDSS discoveries are reported here for the first time., Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in AJ

One of the new frontiers of astronomical research is the exploration of time variability on the sky at different wavelengths and flux levels. We have carried out a pilot project using DPOSS data to study strong variables and transients, and are now extending it to the new Palomar-QUEST synoptic sky survey. We report on our early findings and outline the methodology to be implemented in preparation for a real-time transient detection pipeline. In addition to large numbers of known types of highly variable sources (e.g., SNe, CVs, OVV QSOs, etc.), we expect to find numerous transients whose nature may be established by a rapid follow-up. Whereas we will make all detected variables publicly available through the web, we anticipate that email alerts would be issued in the real time for a subset of events deemed to be the most interesting. This real-time process entails many challenges, in an effort to maintain a high completeness while keeping the contamination low. We will utilize distributed Grid services developed by the GRIST project, and implement a variety of advanced statistical and machine learning techniques., Comment: 5 pages, 2 postscript figures, uses adassconf.sty. To be published in: "ADASS XIV (2004)", Eds. Patrick Shopbell, Matthew Britton and Rick Ebert, ASP Conference Series

Exploration of the time variability on the sky over a broad range of flux levels and wavelengths is rapidly becoming a new frontier of astronomical research. We describe here briefly the Palomar-QUEST survey being carried out from the Samuel Oschin 48-inch Schmidt telescope at Palomar. The following features make the survey an attractive candidate for studying time variability: anticipated survey area of 12,000 - 15,000 sq. degrees in the drift scan mode, point source depth of 21st mag. in I under good conditions, near simultaneous observations in four filters, and at least four passes per year at each location covered. The survey will yield a large number of transients and highly variable sources in the near future and in that sense is a prototype of LSST and Pan-STARRS. We briefly outline our strategy for searching such objects and the proposed pipeline for detecting transients in real-time., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, uses elsart.cls. To be published in: "Wide-Field Imaging From Space", Eds. Tim McKay, Andy Fruchter and Eric Linder, New Astronomy Reviews

We present an optically selected galaxy cluster catalog from ~ 2,700 square degrees of the Digitized Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (DPOSS), spanning the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.5, providing an intermediate redshift supplement to the previous DPOSS cluster survey. This new catalog contains 9,956 cluster candidates and is the largest resource of rich clusters in this redshift range to date. The candidates are detected using the best DPOSS plates based on seeing and limiting magnitude. The search is further restricted to high galactic latitude (|b| > 50), where stellar contamination is modest and nearly uniform. We also present a performance comparison of two different detection methods applied to this data, the Adaptive Kernel and Voronoi Tessellation techniques. In the regime where both catalogs are expected to be complete, we find excellent agreement, as well as with the most recent surveys in the literature. Extensive simulations are performed and applied to the two different methods, indicating a contamination rate of ~ 5%. These simulations are also used to optimize the algorithms and evaluate the selection function for the final cluster catalog. Redshift and richness estimates are also provided, making possible the selection of subsamples for future studies., Comment: 64 pages, 32 figures. Accepted to AJ; appearing in September. Version with full resolution figures is available at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~paal/paper/NoSOCS_IV.ps.gz

We present a study of variable faint optical sources discovered by comparing the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS) catalogs. We use SDSS measurements to photometrically recalibrate several publicly available POSS catalogs; a piecewise recalibration in 100 arcmin2 patches generally results in an improvement of photometric accuracy (rms) by nearly a factor of two, compared to the original data. The POSS I magnitudes can be improved to ~0.15 mag accuracy, and POSS II magnitudes to \~0.10 mag accuracy. We use the recalibrated catalogs for the ~2,000 deg2 of sky in the SDSS Data Release 1 to construct a catalog of ~60,000 sources variable on time scales 10-50 years. A series of statistical tests based on the morphology of SDSS color-color diagrams, as well as visual comparison of images and comparison with repeated SDSS observations, demonstrate the robustness of the selection methods. We quantify the distribution of variable sources in the SDSS color-color diagrams, and the variability characteristics of quasars. We detect a turn-over in quasar structure function which suggests that the characteristic time scale for quasar variability is of the order one year. The long-term (>1 year) quasar variability decreases with luminosity and rest-frame wavelength similarly to the short-term (<1 year) behavior. We also demonstrate that candidate RR Lyrae stars trace the same halo structures, such as the Sgr dwarf tidal stream, that were discovered using repeated SDSS observations. We utilize the POSS-SDSS selected candidates to constrain the halo structure in the parts of sky for which repeated SDSS observations do not exist. (abridged), Comment: 59 pages, 26 figures, submitted to AJ, high res. available as http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~ivezic/0403319.ps

Using a sample of over 25000 spectroscopically confirmed quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we show how quasar variability in the rest frame optical/UV regime depends upon rest frame time lag, luminosity, rest wavelength, redshift, the presence of radio and X-ray emission, and the presence of broad absorption line systems. The time dependence of variability (the structure function) is well-fit by a single power law on timescales from days to years. There is an anti-correlation of variability amplitude with rest wavelength, and quasars are systematically bluer when brighter at all redshifts. There is a strong anti-correlation of variability with quasar luminosity. There is also a significant positive correlation of variability amplitude with redshift, indicating evolution of the quasar population or the variability mechanism. We parameterize all of these relationships. Quasars with RASS X-ray detections are significantly more variable (at optical/UV wavelengths) than those without, and radio loud quasars are marginally more variable than their radio weak counterparts. We find no significant difference in the variability of quasars with and without broad absorption line troughs. Models involving multiple discrete events or gravitational microlensing are unlikely by themselves to account for the data. So-called accretion disk instability models are promising, but more quantitative predictions are needed., Comment: 41 pages, 21 figures, AASTeX, Accepted for publication in ApJ

We report a discovery of a quasar at z = 4.96 +- 0.03 within a few Mpc of the quasar SDSS 0338+0021 at z = 5.02 +- 0.02. The newly found quasar has the SDSS i and z magnitudes of ~ 21.2, and an estimated absolute magnitude M_B ~ -25.2. The projected separation on the sky is 196 arcsec, and the redshift difference Delta z = 0.063 +- 0.008. The probability of finding this quasar pair by chance in the absence of clustering in this particular volume is ~ 10^-4 to 10^-3. We conclude that the two objects probably mark a large-scale structure, possibly a protocluster, at z ~ 5. This is the most distant such structure currently known. Our search in the field of 13 other QSOs at z >~ 4.8 so far has not resulted in any detections of comparable luminous QSO pairs, and it is thus not yet clear how representative is this structure at z ~ 5. However, along with the other evidence for clustering of quasars and young galaxies at somewhat lower redshifts, the observations are at least qualitatively consistent with a strong biasing of the first luminous and massive objects, in agreement with general predictions of theoretical models. More extensive searches for clustered quasars and luminous galaxies at these redshifts will provide valuable empirical constraints for our understanding of early galaxy and structure formation., Comment: Latex file, 8 pages, 3 eps figures, sty files included. To appear in the ApJ

We present a new, objectively defined catalog of candidate galaxy clusters based on the galaxy catalogs from the Digitized Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (DPOSS). This cluster catalog, derived from the best calibrated plates in the high latitude (|b|>30) Northern Galactic Cap region, covers 5,800 square degrees, and contains 8,155 candidate clusters. A simple adaptive kernel density mapping technique, combined with the SExtractor object detection algorithm, is used to detect galaxy overdensities, which we identify as clusters. Simulations of the background galaxy distribution and clusters of varying richnesses and redshifts allow us to optimize detection parameters, and measure the completeness and contamination rates for our catalog. Cluster richnesses and photometric redshifts are measured, using integrated colors and magnitudes for each cluster. An extensive spectroscopic survey is used to confirm the photometric results. This catalog, with well-characterized sample properties, provides a sound basis for future studies of cluster physics and large scale structure., Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures. Accepted to AJ; appearing in April. Version with full resolution figures, and full length tables available at http://dposs.caltech.edu:8080/NoSOCS.html

A Topic Map is a structured network of hyperlinks that points into an information pool. Topic Maps have an existence independent of the information pool and hence different Topic Maps can form different layers above the same information pool and provide us with different views of it. We explore the use of Topic Maps with the Unified Column Descriptor (UCD) scheme developed in the frame of the ESO-CDS data mining project. UCD, with its multi-tier hierarchical structure, categorizes parameters reported in tables and catalogs. By using Topic Maps we show how columns from different catalogs with similar but not identical descriptions could be combined. A direct application for the Virtual Observatory community is that of merging catalogs in order to generate customized views of data., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. LaTeX, uses spie.sty (included). To appear in Proc. SPIE v. 4846 (2002). More details at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~aam/science/topicmaps

We present the photometric calibration technique for the Digitized Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (DPOSS), used to create seamless catalogs of calibrated objects over large sky areas. After applying a correction for telescope vignetting, the extensive plate overlap regions are used to transform sets of plates onto a common instrumental photometric system. Photometric transformations to the Gunn gri system for each plate, for stars and galaxies, are derived using these contiguous stitched areas and an extensive CCD imaging library obtained for this purpose. We discuss the resulting photometric accuracy, survey depth, and possible systematic errors., Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures. Accepted to AJ. Some figures shrunk or missing to limit file size; the full paper is available at http://www.sdss.jhu.edu/~rrg/science/papers/photometrypaper.ps.gz

There has been an unprecedented and continuing growth in the volume, quality, and complexity of astronomical data sets over the past few years, mainly through large digital sky surveys. Virtual Observatory (VO) concept represents a scientific and technological framework needed to cope with this data flood. We review some of the applied statistics and computing challenges posed by the analysis of large and complex data sets expected in the VO-based research. The challenges are driven both by the size and the complexity of the data sets (billions of data vectors in parameter spaces of tens or hundreds of dimensions), by the heterogeneity of the data and measurement errors, the selection effects and censored data, and by the intrinsic clustering properties (functional form, topology) of the data distribution in the parameter space of observed attributes. Examples of scientific questions one may wish to address include: objective determination of the numbers of object classes present in the data, and the membership probabilities for each source; searches for unusual, rare, or even new types of objects and phenomena; discovery of physically interesting multivariate correlations which may be present in some of the clusters; etc., Comment: An invited review, to appear as Chapter 13 in: "Statistical Challenges in Modern Astronomy III", eds. E. Feigelson and G.J. Babu, p. 125, New York: Springer Verlag (2002). Latex file, 11 pages, 1 eps figure, style files included

We report on exploratory Chandra observations of the three highest redshift quasars known (z = 5.82, 5.99, and 6.28), all found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These data, combined with a previous XMM-Newton observation of a z = 5.74 quasar, form a complete set of color-selected, z > 5.7 quasars. X-ray emission is detected from all of the quasars at levels that indicate that the X-ray to optical flux ratios of z ~ 6 optically selected quasars are similar to those of lower redshift quasars. The observations demonstrate that it will be feasible to obtain quality X-ray spectra of z ~ 6 quasars with current and future X-ray missions., Comment: 15 pages, ApJL, in press; small revisions to address referee Comments

One major component of the VO will be catalogs measuring gigabytes and terrabytes if not more. Some mechanism like XML will be used for structuring the information. However, such mechanisms are not good for information retrieval on their own. For retrieval we use queries. Topic Maps that have started becoming popular recently are excellent for segregating information that results from a query. A Topic Map is a structured network of hyperlinks above an information pool. Different Topic Maps can form different layers above the same information pool and provide us with different views of it. This facilitates in being able to ask exact questions, aiding us in looking for gold needles in the proverbial haystack. Here we discuss the specifics of what Topic Maps are and how they can be implemented within the VO framework. URL: http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~aam/science/topicmaps/, Comment: 11 pages, 5 eps figures, to appear in SPIE Annual Meeting 2001 proceedings (Astronomical Data Analysis), uses spie.sty

Like every other field of intellectual endeavor, astronomy is being revolutionised by the advances in information technology. There is an ongoing exponential growth in the volume, quality, and complexity of astronomical data sets, mainly through large digital sky surveys and archives. The Virtual Observatory (VO) concept represents a scientific and technological framework needed to cope with this data flood. Systematic exploration of the observable parameter spaces, covered by large digital sky surveys spanning a range of wavelengths, will be one of the primary modes of research with a VO. This is where the truly new discoveries will be made, and new insights be gained about the already known astronomical objects and phenomena. We review some of the methodological challenges posed by the analysis of large and complex data sets expected in the VO-based research. The challenges are driven both by the size and the complexity of the data sets (billions of data vectors in parameter spaces of tens or hundreds of dimensions), by the heterogeneity of the data and measurement errors, including differences in basic survey parameters for the federated data sets (e.g., in the positional accuracy and resolution, wavelength coverage, time baseline, etc.), various selection effects, as well as the intrinsic clustering properties (functional form, topology) of the data distributions in the parameter spaces of observed attributes. Answering these challenges will require substantial collaborative efforts and partnerships between astronomers, computer scientists, and statisticians., Comment: Invited review, 10 pages, Latex file with 4 eps figures, style files included. To appear in Proc. SPIE, v. 4477 (2001)

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has discovered a population of broad absorption line quasars with various extreme properties. Many show absorption from metastable states of FeII with varying excitations; several objects are almost completely absorbed bluewards of MgII; at least one shows stronger absorption from FeIII than FeII, indicating temperatures T>35000 K in the absorbing region; and one object even seems to have broad H-beta absorption. Many of these extreme BALs are also heavily reddened, though `normal' BALs (particularly LoBALs) from SDSS also show evidence for internal reddening., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Mass Outflow in Active Galactic Nuclei: New Perspectives, eds. D. M. Crenshaw, S. B. Kraemer, and I. M. George

We review some of the scientific opportunities and technical challenges posed by the exploration of the large digital sky surveys, in the context of a Virtual Observatory (VO). The VO paradigm will profoundly change the way observational astronomy is done. Clustering analysis techniques can be used to discover samples of rare, unusual, or even previously unknown types of astronomical objects and phenomena. Exploration of the previously poorly probed portions of the observable parameter space are especially promising. We illustrate some of the possible types of studies with examples drawn from DPOSS; much more complex and interesting applications are forthcoming. Development of the new tools needed for an efficient exploration of these vast data sets requires a synergy between astronomy and information sciences, with great potential returns for both fields., Comment: To appear in: Mining the Sky, eds. A. Banday et al., ESO Astrophysics Symposia, Berlin: Springer Verlag, in press (2001). Latex file, 18 pages, 6 encapsulated postscript figures, style files included

Systematic exploration of the observable parameter space, covered by large digital sky surveys spanning a range of wavelengths, will be one of the primary modes of research with a Virtual Observatory (VO). This will include searches for rare, unusual, or even previously unknown types of astronomical objects and phenomena, e.g. as outliers in some parameter space of measured properties, both in the catalog and image domains. Examples from current surveys include high-redshift quasars, type-2 quasars, brown dwarfs, and a small number of objects with puzzling spectra. Opening of the time domain will be especially interesting in this regard. Data-mining tools such as unsupervised clustering techniques will be essential in this task, and should become an important part of the VO toolkit., Comment: To appear in: Virtual Observatories of the Future, eds. R. Brunner, S.G. Djorgovski, and A. Szalay, ASP Conf. Ser. vol. 225, pp. 52-63 (2001); Latex file, 12 pages, 6 encapsulated postscript figures, style file included