The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)
The DESI Survey Validation: Results from Visual Inspection of Bright Galaxies, Luminous Red Galaxies, and Emission-line Galaxies
- Ting-Wen Lan,
- R. Tojeiro,
- E. Armengaud,
- J. Xavier Prochaska,
- T. M. Davis,
- David M. Alexander,
- A. Raichoor,
- Rongpu Zhou,
- Christophe Yèche,
- C. Balland,
- S. BenZvi,
- A. Berti,
- R. Canning,
- A. Carr,
- H. Chittenden,
- S. Cole,
- M.-C. Cousinou,
- K. Dawson,
- Biprateep Dey,
- K. Douglass,
- A. Edge,
- S. Escoffier,
- A. Glanville,
- S. Gontcho A Gontcho,
- J. Guy,
- C. Hahn,
- C. Howlett,
- Ho Seong Hwang,
- L. Jiang,
- A. Kovács,
- M. Mezcua,
- S. Moore,
- S. Nadathur,
- M. Oh,
- D. Parkinson,
- A. Rocher,
- A. J. Ross,
- V. Ruhlmann-Kleider,
- C. G. Sabiu,
- K. Said,
- C. Saulder,
- D. Sierra-Porta,
- B. Weiner,
- J. Yu,
- P. Zarrouk,
- Y. Zhang,
- H. Zou,
- S. Ahlen,
- S. Bailey,
- D. Brooks,
- A. P. Cooper,
- A. de la Macorra,
- A. Dey,
- G. Dhungana,
- P. Doel,
- S. Eftekharzadeh,
- K. Fanning,
- A. Font-Ribera,
- L. Garrison,
- E. Gaztañaga,
- R. Kehoe,
- T. Kisner,
- A. Kremin,
- M. Landriau,
- L. Le Guillou,
- Michael E. Levi,
- C. Magneville,
- Aaron M. Meisner,
- R. Miquel,
- J. Moustakas,
- Adam D. Myers,
- Jeffrey A. Newman,
- J. D. Nie,
- N. Palanque-Delabrouille,
- W. J. Percival,
- C. Poppett,
- F. Prada,
- M. Schubnell,
- Gregory Tarlé,
- B. A. Weaver,
- K. Zhang,
- Zhimin Zhou
Affiliations
- Ting-Wen Lan
- ORCiD
- Graduate Institute of Astrophysics and Department of Physics, National Taiwan University , No. 1, Sec. 4 Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan ; [email protected]; Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95065, USA
- R. Tojeiro
- SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews , St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
- E. Armengaud
- ORCiD
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- J. Xavier Prochaska
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95065, USA; Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), WPI, The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), The University of Tokyo , Kashiwa, Chiba, Kashiwa 277-8583, Japan
- T. M. Davis
- ORCiD
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland , 4072, Australia
- David M. Alexander
- ORCiD
- Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
- A. Raichoor
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Rongpu Zhou
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Christophe Yèche
- ORCiD
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- C. Balland
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), FR-75005 Paris, France
- S. BenZvi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester , 206 Bausch and Lomb Hall, P.O. Box 270171, Rochester, NY 14627-0171, USA
- A. Berti
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah , 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- R. Canning
- Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth , Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK
- A. Carr
- ORCiD
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland , 4072, Australia
- H. Chittenden
- SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews , St Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
- S. Cole
- ORCiD
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- M.-C. Cousinou
- Aix Marseille Université , CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
- K. Dawson
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah , 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Biprateep Dey
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh , 3941 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- K. Douglass
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester , 206 Bausch and Lomb Hall, P.O. Box 270171, Rochester, NY 14627-0171, USA
- A. Edge
- ORCiD
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- S. Escoffier
- ORCiD
- Aix Marseille Université , CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
- A. Glanville
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland , 4072, Australia
- S. Gontcho A Gontcho
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- J. Guy
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- C. Hahn
- ORCiD
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Peyton Hall, Princeton NJ 08544, USA; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley CA 94720, USA
- C. Howlett
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland , 4072, Australia
- Ho Seong Hwang
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Program, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; SNU Astronomy Research Center, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) , 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34055, Republic of Korea
- L. Jiang
- Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University , PKU, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
- A. Kovács
- Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) , E-38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , C/ Vía Láctea, s/n, E-38205 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- M. Mezcua
- ORCiD
- Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Space Sciences , ICE-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, E-08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- S. Moore
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- S. Nadathur
- ORCiD
- Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation, University of Portsmouth , Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK; Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- M. Oh
- Department of Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
- D. Parkinson
- ORCiD
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , 776, Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34055, Republic of Korea
- A. Rocher
- ORCiD
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- A. J. Ross
- Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics, The Ohio State University , 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- V. Ruhlmann-Kleider
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- C. G. Sabiu
- ORCiD
- Natural Science Research Institute, University of Seoul , 163 Seoulsiripdae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
- K. Said
- ORCiD
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland , 4072, Australia
- C. Saulder
- ORCiD
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , 776, Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34055, Republic of Korea
- D. Sierra-Porta
- Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolivar , Cartagena de Indias 130010, Colombia; Departamento de Física, Universidad de los Andes , Cra. 1 No. 18A-10, Edificio Ip, CP 111711, Bogotá, Colombia
- B. Weiner
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- J. Yu
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- P. Zarrouk
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), FR-75005 Paris, France
- Y. Zhang
- Department of Physics and Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University , New York, NY 10003, USA
- H. Zou
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People's Republic of China
- S. Ahlen
- ORCiD
- Physics Department, Boston University , 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- S. Bailey
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- D. Brooks
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- A. P. Cooper
- ORCiD
- Institute of Astronomy and Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University , 101 Kuang-Fu Rd. Sec. 2, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
- A. de la Macorra
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México C.P. 04510, MÉxico
- A. Dey
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- G. Dhungana
- Department of Physics, Southern Methodist University , 3215 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
- P. Doel
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- S. Eftekharzadeh
- Universities Space Research Association , NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
- K. Fanning
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- A. Font-Ribera
- ORCiD
- Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) , The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, Spain
- L. Garrison
- ORCiD
- Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
- E. Gaztañaga
- ORCiD
- Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Space Sciences , ICE-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, E-08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- R. Kehoe
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Southern Methodist University , 3215 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
- T. Kisner
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- A. Kremin
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Physics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Physics Department, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- M. Landriau
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- L. Le Guillou
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), FR-75005 Paris, France
- Michael E. Levi
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- C. Magneville
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Aaron M. Meisner
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- R. Miquel
- ORCiD
- Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE) , The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, E-08193 Bellaterra Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig de Lluís Companys , 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- J. Moustakas
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Siena College , 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211, USA
- Adam D. Myers
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Wyoming , 1000 E. University, Department 3905, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- Jeffrey A. Newman
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy and Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh , 3941 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
- J. D. Nie
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People's Republic of China
- N. Palanque-Delabrouille
- ORCiD
- IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay , F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- W. J. Percival
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo , 200 University Avenue W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada; Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics , 31 Caroline Street North, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5, Canada; Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo , 200 University Avenue W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
- C. Poppett
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley , 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; University of California Berkeley , 110 Sproul Hall #5800, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- F. Prada
- Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucía, Glorieta de la Astronomía , s/n, E-18008 Granada, Spain
- M. Schubnell
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Gregory Tarlé
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- B. A. Weaver
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- K. Zhang
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Zhimin Zhou
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People's Republic of China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 943,
no. 1
p. 68
Abstract
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies to validate the final survey design and target selections. To assist in these tasks, we visually inspect DESI spectra of approximately 2500 bright galaxies, 3500 luminous red galaxies (LRGs), and 10,000 emission-line galaxies (ELGs) to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the visually inspected redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the visual inspection (VI) catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, LRGs, and ELGs with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km s ^−1 for bright galaxies and ELGs and approximately 40 km s ^−1 for LRGs. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km s ^−1 for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Ly α emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.
Keywords
