A Simple Likelihood Method for Quasar Target Selection

Abstract

We present a new method for quasar target selection using photometric fluxes and a Bayesian probabilistic approach. For our purposes we target quasars using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry to a magnitude limit of g=22. The efficiency and completeness of this technique is measured using the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) data, taken in 2010. This technique was used for the uniformly selected (CORE) sample of targets in BOSS year one spectroscopy to be realized in the 9th SDSS data release. When targeting at a density of 40 objects per sq-deg (the BOSS quasar targeting density) the efficiency of this technique in recovering z>2.2 quasars is 40%. The completeness compared to all quasars identified in BOSS data is 65%. This paper also describes possible extensions and improvements for this technique

Updated to accepted version for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 10 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables

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Cited by in corpus (51)

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• Cosmological implications of baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements
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• Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Ly-α forest of BOSS quasars
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• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog: Fourteenth Data Release
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog: twelfth data release
• Measurement of BAO correlations at $z=2.3$ with SDSS DR12 \lya-Forests
• The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Quasar Target Selection for Data Release Nine
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• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog: tenth data release
• Baryon acoustic oscillations from the cross-correlation of Ly$\alpha$ absorption and quasars in eBOSS DR14
• The z=5 Quasar Luminosity Function from SDSS Stripe 82
• The one-dimensional Ly-alpha forest power spectrum from BOSS
• The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: The Quasar Luminosity Function from Data Release Nine
• Clustering of intermediate redshift quasars using the final SDSS III-BOSS sample
• The large-scale cross-correlation of Damped Lyman Alpha Systems with the Lyman Alpha Forest: First Measurements from BOSS
• The Target-selection Pipeline for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
• Lyα emission line reconstruction for high-$z$ QSOs
• The large-scale Quasar-Lyman α Forest Cross-Correlation from BOSS
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• The Faint End of the z=5 Quasar Luminosity Function from the CFHTLS
• The SDSS-DR12 large-scale cross-correlation of Damped Lyman Alpha Systems with the Lyman Alpha Forest
• The Spectral Slope and Escape Fraction of Bright Quasars at $z\sim 3.8$: the Contribution to the Cosmic UV Background
• Large-scale clustering of Lyman-alpha emission intensity from SDSS/BOSS
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• Intensity mapping with SDSS/BOSS Lyman-alpha emission, quasars and their Lyman-alpha forest
• The Composite Spectrum of BOSS Quasars Selected for Studies of the Lyman-alpha Forest
• A Search for Kilonovae in the Dark Energy Survey
• Efficient Selection of Quasar Candidates Based on Optical and Infrared Photometric Data Using Machine Learning
• On the discovery of stars, quasars, and galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere with S-PLUS DR2
• One-Class Support Measure Machines for Group Anomaly Detection
• Selecting Quasar Candidates by a SVM Classification System
• The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope Quasar Survey: Quasar Properties from First Data Release
• Quasar Photometric Redshifts and Candidate Selection: A New Algorithm Based on Optical and Mid-Infrared Photometric Data
• Spectral Evolution in High Redshift Quasars from the Final BOSS Sample
• The effect of dust bias on the census of neutral gas and metals in the high-redshift Universe due to SDSS-II quasar colour selection
• Simulations of BAO reconstruction with a quasar Lyman-alpha survey
• The QUEST-La Silla AGN Variability Survey: selection of AGN candidates through optical variability
• The 2QDES Pilot : The luminosity and redshift dependence of quasar clustering
• A Study of Quasar Selection in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova fields
• Learning from the machine: interpreting machine learning algorithms for point- and extended- source classification
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• Quasar UV Luminosity Function at $3.5<z<5.0$ from SDSS Deep Imaging Data
• Quasar -- CIV forest cross-correlation with SDSS DR12
• The optical luminosity function of LOFAR radio-selected quasars at $1.4\le z\le 5.0$ in the NDWFS-Boötes field