The VLT LBG Redshift Survey

We present a catalogue of 2135 galaxy redshifts from the VLT LBG Redshift Survey (VLRS), a spectroscopic survey of z approximate to 3 galaxies in wide fields centred on background quasi-stellar objects. We have used deep optical imaging to select galaxies via the Lyman-break technique. Spectroscopy of the Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) was then made using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) Visible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) instrument, giving a mean redshift of z = 2.79. We analyse the clustering properties of the VLRS sample and also of the VLRS sample combined with the smaller area Keck-based survey of Steidel et al. From the semiprojected correlation function, w(p)(sigma), for the VLRS and combined surveys, we find that the results are well fit with a single power-law model, with clustering scale lengths of r(0) = 3.46 +/- 0.41 and 3.83 +/- 0.24 h(-1) Mpc, respectively. We note that the corresponding combined xi (r) slope is flatter than for local galaxies at gamma = 1.5-1.6 rather than gamma = 1.8. This flat slope is confirmed by the z-space correlation function, xi (s), and in the range 10